In our Reality Check this week, a new study says that Mustang is more popular than Superman or Batman, but it’s not what you might think.
The study by SplashData reveals that the name Mustang is actually the 16th most common password people use on the Internet, higher on the list than Superman and Batman. In fact it’s the only car in the list of the top 25 most common passwords.
To that, Ford said that while they are flattered that they suggest their fans add letters, numbers, acronyms to their pony car-inspired passwords to strengthen them up.
In fact they went so far as to suggest people their favorite Mustang model year, or option codes, paint codes, engine codes and even digits from their VIN.
The marketing gets even thicker as Ford suggests you create acronyms for modifications made to your Mustang like for example “FRSC” for Ford Racing SuperCharger.
First of all, don’t you find it a bit alarming that some entity out there has the ability to study what all of our passwords are for our sensitive online accounts, and then spin it all out there for the world to consume?
And second, now you have a better idea of the passwords a Mustang fan might be using. Given this plus the rest of the study’s data it just seems like a can of worms to hand off to hackers.
I’m a Mustang fan, but I can assure you that I don’t use the word or any form of it in my own passwords. So don’t even bother.
