Experts reveal what numbers you should change your PIN code to...and which to NEVER use

Daily Mail​

27-05-2025

Tech experts are warning that some of the most widely recommended PIN codes for protecting your electronics may now be the easiest for hackers to crack — all thanks to their rising popularity.
IT pro Davey Winder says once a supposedly 'secure' four-digit code hits the internet, it becomes useless.
Case in point: 8068, once hailed as the safest PIN, is now a hacker's dream.
'As soon as 8068 was named online, it became anything but safe. As soon as you could Google what's the safest PIN code and get 8068 returned, it became a very weak number instead,' Winder wrote for Forbes.
'The same applies to the other numbers noted in the study, 6835, 7637, 8093, and 9629.'
He warns that even a four-digit PIN, in theory, takes only 10,000 tries to guess — a task easily automated by hackers.
Instead of choosing birthdays, anniversaries, or easy-to-remember patterns, Winder recommends going longer: six digits at minimum, or up to 12 for real protection.
Davey Winder revealed the password '8068' became 'anything but safe' due to experts repeatedly saying it was a great password
'Passwords and PINs that are easy to type and recall are also easy to guess,' he said. 'That's your biggest mistake.'
Some of the worst passwords, according to Winder, include '000000,' '1234567,' 'charlie,' and even 'iloveyou.'
Even when someone opts out of using personal information, individuals can still find ways to crack codes.
An easy way for this to happen is if the person uses the same four-digit PIN for all electronics, which is more common than one may expect.
A study with over 29 million participants showed that one in 10 people use a four-digit PIN code from data breach lists.
Through this study, experts were able to put together a complete list of four-digit PINs not to use, which include '1234,' '1111,' '0000,' and '1342.'
Experts found that '1234' was the most popular choice, accounting for nearly one in 10 million participants' PIN numbers.
The PIN number is frequently attributed to James Goodfellow, an inventor who's considered to be the person behind the creation of the ATM.
Winder insisted people remember the importance of passwords, which can be just as easy to crack as PINs.
'Passwords that are easy to type as well as recall. And that, right there, is your biggest mistake,' Winder mentioned in another Forbes article.
'If you do it, other people will do as well, and that's why if your password is on this list you must change it now.'
Some of the 33 passwords the expert insisted weren't good include '000000,' '1234567,' 'charlie,' and 'iloveyou.'
A quick tip Winder suggested for anyone looking to keep their phones safe is to stop using four-digit pins and use six or 10 instead.
PIN codes and passwords to never use
PIN codes
0000
1010
1111
1122
1212
1234
1313
1342
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2005
2020
2222
2468
2580
3333
4321
4444
5555
6666
6969
7777
8888
9999
Passwords
000000
111111
11111111
121212
123123
12345
123456
1234567
12345678
123456789
1234567890
555666
aaron431
abc123
abcd1234
ABCDEF
admin
charlie
dragon
iloveyou
lemonfish
liverpool
monkey
password
password1
qwerty
qwerty1
qwerty123
secret
tangkai
user0123
welcome
woaini