Passwords are created for protecting users' privacy, but if they are too simple, it may cause safety risks for the users, resulting in the leakage of personal information, especially on the Internet.

Beijing Rising International Software Co., Ltd., a leading domestic enterprise engaged in computer virus prevention, released the result of a research on online password strength on Tuesday.

Based on various online material and the password lists collected by phishing websites, the most popularly used passwords can be divided into four categories: digital numbers combination, alphabet sequence combination, adjacent alphabets combination and special meaning characters combination. Chinese Internet users prefer using their names, birthdays and cell phone numbers as their passwords. Quite a few users use the default passwords created by the computer system, such as "admin," "root" and "administrator."

Experts suggest using high-strength passwords in the form of the combination of "alphabets, digital numbers and special symbols"; using different passwords for different occasions; changing passwords regularly; and avoiding to use birthdays, names and telephone numbers as passwords.

Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd., an Internet and mobile security products and services provider of China, also published the lists of the mostly commonly used online passwords of Chinese users and foreign users. "Password", "abc123", "iloveyou" and "qwerty" are the global users' favorites, while Chinese users show their love for simple numbers such as "666666" and "888888."

The following are the most commonly used online passwords published by Rising and Qihoo 360.