Technology

America’s most-used password in 2025 revealed

Published

4 weeks ago

November 28, 2025

America’s most-used password in 2025 revealed

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Passwords play a huge role in how you stay safe online. They protect your accounts, devices and money. Still, many people pick logins that criminals can guess in seconds.

The latest NordPass report shows this problem again. This year, “admin” took the top spot as the most common password in the United States.

NordPass and NordStellar, two cybersecurity companies that track leaked credentials and online threats, reviewed millions of exposed passwords to spot trends. They also examined how password habits differ across generations. The pattern is clear: many of us still rely on simple words, easy number strings and familiar keyboard patterns. These choices give attackers a quick path into countless accounts.

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183 MILLION EMAIL PASSWORDS LEAKED: CHECK YOURS NOW

Weak passwords like “admin” give attackers a quick way into your accounts before you even realize it. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Most common passwords in the United States

NordPass shared its top 20 list for 2025. “Admin” sits at number one. Variations of the word “password” take up five spots. Number strings appear nine times. One explicit term even made the list.

Here are the 20 most common passwords in the USA this year:

admin
password
123456
12345678
123456789
12345
Password
12345678910
Gmail.12345
Password1
Aa123456
f*******t
1234567890
abc123
Welcome1
Password1!
password1
1234567
111111
123123

Weak logins remain a major problem because criminals rely on automated tools. These tools try simple words and common patterns first. When millions of people reuse the same easy passwords, attackers succeed fast.

HOW TO USE PASSKEYS TO KEEP YOUR COMPUTER SAFE

Reusing the same login across sites makes it easy for criminals to jump from one hacked account to another. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Global trends show the same risky password behavior

The United States is not alone. Globally, “123456” ranks as the most common password. “Admin” and “12345678” follow closely behind. These patterns appear because they are easy to remember. Sadly, they are also easy to crack.

Researchers noticed one shift worth noting: more passwords now include special characters. The increase is sharp. However, most examples remain weak. Strings like P@ssw0rd and Abcd@1234 still follow predictable rules that tools can break with little effort.

The word “password” stays popular around the world. People even use it in local languages. This shows how widespread the problem is.

Why younger generations still make unsafe password choices

Many people assume younger adults understand digital safety. They grew up with phones and social media. Research shows that this assumption is wrong.

NordPass found that an 18-year-old often picks the same weak password patterns as an 80-year-old. Younger users favor long number sequences. Older users lean toward names. Neither group creates secure or random strings. Generations Z and Y tend to avoid names. Generations X and older use them often. Each approach carries risk because attackers expect both patterns.

AI-POWERED SCAMS TARGET KIDS WHILE PARENTS STAY SILENT

Researchers found that weak and predictable passwords still appear in leaked data again and again. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Why weak passwords remain a big threat

Weak passwords fuel data breaches and account takeovers. Criminals run scripts that check billions of combinations every second. When your password is common, they break in fast.

A single stolen login can expose your email, social accounts, bank information and more. Many attacks start this way. Once criminals get inside one account, they often try the same password on others.

Steps to stay safe with your passwords

You can improve your digital safety with a few simple habits. These steps help block common attacks and protect your accounts.

1) Create strong random passwords

Pick long passwords or short passphrases. Aim for at least 20 characters. Mix letters, numbers and special characters. Avoid patterns.

2) Avoid password reuse

Use a unique password for each account. If one login gets hacked, the others stay safe.

3) Review and update weak passwords

Check your old logins. Replace anything short, predictable or reused. Fresh passwords lower your risk.

4) Use a password manager

A password manager creates secure passwords and stores them safely. It also fills them in for you, so you do not need to remember them.

Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our No. 1 password manager pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.

Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 at Cyberguy.com.

5) Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA)

MFA adds a second check before you log in. It is one of the easiest ways to block attackers.

6) Keep your software updated

Update your phone, computer browsers and apps on a regular schedule. These updates patch security gaps that criminals try to exploit. When you fall behind on updates, weak passwords become even riskier because attackers can pair old software flaws with easy logins.

Pro Tip: Use a data removal service

Leaked passwords often come from old profiles on data broker sites you forgot about. A data removal service can wipe your personal info from those sites and reduce how much of your data ends up on breach lists. When less of your information is floating around online, your accounts become less tempting targets.

While no service can guarantee the complete removal of your data from the internet, a data removal service is really a smart choice. They aren’t cheap, and neither is your privacy. These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites. It’s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the most effective way to erase your personal data from the internet. By limiting the information available, you reduce the risk of scammers cross-referencing data from breaches with information they might find on the dark web, making it harder for them to target you.

Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com.

Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web: Cyberguy.com.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Weak passwords remain a huge issue in 2025, even with new tools and better education. You have the power to improve your security with a few quick changes. When you build strong habits, you make it harder for criminals to get inside your accounts. Small steps add up fast and give you far more protection online.

What do you think keeps people stuck on weak passwords even when the risks are clear? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

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Technology

Android Sound Notifications help you catch key alerts

Published

15 minutes ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Android Sound Notifications help you catch key alerts

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Staying aware of your surroundings matters. That includes hearing smoke alarms, appliance beeps or a knock at the door. Still, real life gets busy. You wear headphones. You get focused. Sounds slip by. That is where Android Sound Notifications help. This built-in accessibility feature listens for key sounds and sends an alert to your screen. Think of it as a gentle tap on the shoulder when something important happens.

Although it was designed to help people who are hard of hearing, it is useful for anyone. If you work with noise-canceling headphones or often miss alerts at home, this feature can make a real difference.

Now, if you use an iPhone, here’s how Apple’s Sound Recognition can alert you to alarms and other key sounds on your device.

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Android Sound Notifications alert you when important sounds happen around you. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

CHROME ROLLS OUT AI PODCAST FEATURE ON ANDROID

What Sound Notifications do on Android

Sound Notifications use your phone’s microphone to listen for specific sounds nearby. When it detects one, it sends a visual alert. You will see a pop-up, feel a vibration and may even see the camera flash.

By default, Android can detect sounds like:

Smoke alarms
Fire alarms
Sirens
Door knocks
Doorbells
Appliance beeps
A landline phone ringing
Running water
A baby crying
A dog barking

That range makes the feature practical at home or at work. Even better, you control which sounds matter to you.

Why this feature is worth using

Here is the simple truth. You cannot hear everything all the time. Distractions happen. Headphones block sound. Focus takes over. Sound Notifications fill that gap. While you stay locked into a task, your phone keeps listening. When something important happens, you still get the message. As a result, you worry less about missing alarms or visitors. You gain awareness without extra effort.

How to turn on Sound Notifications

Getting started only takes a minute. Note: We tested these steps on a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra running the latest version of Android. Menu names and locations may differ slightly on other Android phones, depending on the manufacturer and software version.

Open the Settings app
Go to Accessibility
Tap Hearing enhancements
Select Sound Notifications
Turn the feature on

Turning on Sound Notifications only takes a few taps in Android’s Accessibility settings. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

When you enable Sound Notifications for the first time, Android will ask how you want to start the feature. Choose the option that works best for you:

Tap the button in the quick settings panel
Tap the Accessibility button
Press the Side and Volume Up buttons
Press and hold the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons for three seconds

After you select a shortcut, Click Ok. Then, Sound Notifications will start listening in the background.

ANDROID EMERGENCY LIVE VIDEO GIVES 911 EYES ON THE SCENE

If you do not see the option, install the Live Transcribe & Notifications app from the Play Store. You can enable Sound Notifications from there. Once active, your phone listens for selected sounds and alerts you when it detects one.

Choose which sounds trigger alerts

Not every sound deserves your attention. Thankfully, Android lets you fine-tune alerts.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Go back to Settings
Tap Accessibility
Click Hearing enhancements
Tap Sound Notifications
Click Open Sound Notifications. This opens the actual Sound Notifications control screen.
On the Sound Notifications screen, tap Settings or the gear icon in the top corner
Tap Sound types

You will now see the full list of detectable sounds.

Toggle on the sounds you want alerts for, such as smoke alarms or doorbells
Toggle off sounds you do not want, like dog barking or appliance beeps, if they are not important to you

You can choose exactly which sounds trigger alerts, helping you avoid unnecessary interruptions. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Check the sound history log

Sound Notifications keep a log of detected sounds. This helps if you were away from your phone and want to see what happened.

You can also save sounds and name them. That makes it easier to tell the difference between your washer finishing and your microwave timer.

The log adds context, which makes alerts more helpful.

GOOGLE’S NEW CALL REASON FEATURE MARKS CALLS AS URGENT

Teach your phone custom sounds

Android does not stop at presets. You can train it to recognize sounds unique to your space.

Maybe your garage door has a distinct tone. Maybe an appliance uses a nonstandard beep. You can record it once, and your phone will listen for it going forward. To add a custom sound:

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open Sound Notifications
Tap the gear icon
Select Custom sounds
Tap Add sound
Hit Record

Record a clear 20-second clip. The better the audio, the better detection works later.

Customize how alerts appear

By default, Sound Notifications use vibration and the camera flash. That visual cue is helpful for urgent alerts. However, not every sound needs that level of attention. You can adjust how alerts appear based on importance.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer

Open Sound Notifications
Open the gear icon
Tap Ways to be notified
From there, choose which alerts vibrate, flash or stay subtle

This flexibility keeps the feature working for your routine.

Your privacy stays on your phone

It is reasonable to question constant listening. Here is the key detail. Sound Notifications process audio locally on your device. Sounds never leave your phone. Nothing gets sent to Google. The only exception is if you choose to include audio with feedback. That design keeps the feature private and secure.

Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?

Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Android Sound Notifications quietly solve a real problem. They help you stay aware when your ears cannot. Setup is fast. Controls are flexible. Privacy stays intact. Once you turn it on, you may wonder how you lived without it.

What important sound have you missed lately that your phone could have caught for you? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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Technology

How Last Samurai Standing adds kinetic action to the Battle Royale formula

Published

12 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

How Last Samurai Standing adds kinetic action to the Battle Royale formula

Last Samurai Standing begins with a familiar premise. Desperate samurai dispossessed by the restoration of the emperor enter into a deadly game for a life-changing cash prize — all for the entertainment of anonymous elites. Unlike its inspirations Battle Royale and Squid Game, however, Last Samurai Standing’s violence is chaotic, fast-paced, and kinetic, though it hides a careful choreography that makes the series a more electric proposition than its predecessors.

Viewers have Junichi Okada to thank for that. As well as starring in and producing Last Samurai Standing, he serves as the series’ action planner. Many will be familiar with the results of an action planner’s work — sometimes called an action director, elsewhere a “coordinator,” and even “choreographer” — though perhaps not what the role entails. In the case of Last Samurai Standing, it’s a role that touches on nearly every aspect of the production, from the story to the action itself.

“I was involved from the script stage, thinking about what kind of action we wanted and how we would present it in the context of this story,” Okada tells The Verge. “If the director [Michihito Fujii] said, ‘I want to shoot this kind of battle scene,’ I would then think through the content and concept, design the scene, and ultimately translate that into script pages.”

The close relationship between the writer and director extends to other departments, too. Though an action planner’s role starts with managing fight scenes and stunt performers, they also liaise with camera, wardrobe, makeup, and even editorial departments to ensure fight scenes cohere with the rest of the production.

Image: Netflix

It’s a role which might appear a natural progression for Okada, who is certified to teach Kali and Jeet Kune Do — a martial art conceived by Bruce Lee — and holds multiple black belts in jiujitsu. Though the roots of his progression into action planning can be traced back further, to 1995 when he became the youngest member of J-pop group V6.

“Dance experience connects directly to creating action,” he says. “[In both] rhythm and control of the body are extremely important.” Joining V6 at the age of 15, that experience has made Okada conscious of how he moves in relation to a camera during choreography, how he is seen within the structure of a shot, and, critical to action planning, how to navigate all of that safely from a young age.

That J-pop stardom also offered avenues into acting, initially in roles you might expect for a young pop star: comic heartthrobs and sitcom sons. But he was steadily able to broaden his output. A starring turn in Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Hana followed, as did voice acting in Studio Ghibli’s Tales From Earthsea and From Up on Poppy Hill. A more telling departure was a starring role in 2007’s SP, in which he played a rookie in a police bodyguard unit, for which he trained for several years under shootfighting instructor Yorinaga Nakamura.

“What I care about is whether audiences feel that ‘this man really lives here as a samurai.’”

In the years since, Okada has cemented himself as one of Japan’s most recognizable actors, hopping between action starring roles in The Fable to sweeping period epics like Sekigahara. Those two genres converge in his Last Samurai Standing role of Shujiro, a former Shogunate samurai now reduced to poverty, working through his PTSD and reckoning with his bloodthirsty past in the game. These days, it’s less of a concern that the character butts up against his past idol image, he suggests. “What I care about is whether audiences feel that ‘this man really lives here as a samurai.’”

For Okada’s work on Last Samurai Standing, as both producer and action planner, that involved lacing high-octane but believable action with the respect for history and character studies of the period dramas he loves. “Rather than being 100 percent faithful to historical accuracy,” he adds, “my goal was to focus on entertainment and story, while letting the ‘DNA’ and beauty of Japanese period drama gently float up in the background.”

A focus on what he defines as “‘dō’ — movement,” pure entertainment that “never lets the audience get bored” punctuated — with “‘ma,’” the active emptiness that connects those frenetic moments. Both can be conversations, even if one uses words and another communicates dialogue through sword blows. This is most apparent when Shujiro faces his former comrade Sakura (Yasushi Fuchikami) inside a claustrophobic bank vault that serves as a charnel house for the game’s less fortunate contestants.

“The whole battle is divided into three sequences,” Okada says. The first starts with a moment of almost perfect stillness, a deep breath, before the two launch into battle. “A fight where pride and mutual respect collide,” he says, “and where the speed of the techniques reaches a level that really surprises the audience.” It’s all captured in one, zooming take with fast, tightly choreographed action reminiscent of Donnie Yen and Wu Jing in Kill Zone.

So intense is their duel that both shatter multiple swords. The next phase sees them lash out in a more desperate and brutal manner with whatever weapons they find. Finally, having fought to a weary stalemate, the fight becomes, Okada concludes, “a kind of duel where their stubbornness and will are fully exposed” as they hack at each other with shattered blades and spear fragments.

A still image from the Netflix series Last Samurai Standing.

Image: Netflix

It’s a rhythm that many fights in Last Samurai Standing follow, driven by a string of physical and emotional considerations that form the basis of an action planner’s tool kit: how and why someone fights based on who they are and their environment. Here it is two former samurai in an elegant and terrifyingly fast-paced duel. Elsewhere we see skill matched against brutality, or inexperience against expertise.

“I define a clear concept for each sequence,” Okada says, before he opens those concepts up to the broader team. From there, he might add notes, but in Last Samurai Standing, action is a collaborative affair. “We keep refining,” he says. “It’s a back-and-forth process of shaping the sequence using both the ideas the team brings and the choreography I create myself.”

There is a third factor which Okada believes is the series’ most defining. “If we get to continue the story,” he says, “I’d love to explore how much more we can lean into ‘sei’ — stillness, and bring in even more of a classical period drama feel.”

As much of a triumph of action as Last Samurai Standing is, its quietest moments are the ones that stay with you. The charged looks between Shujiro and Iroha (Kaya Kiyohara) or their shuddering fright when confronted with specters of their past. Most of all, Shujiro watching his young ward, Futaba Katsuki (Yumia Fujisaki), dance before a waterlogged torii as mist hovers. These pauses are what elevate and invigorate the breathless action above spectacle.

The pauses are also emblematic of the balance that Last Samurai Standing strikes between its period setting and pushing the boundaries of action, all to inject new excitement into the genre. “Japan is a country that values tradition and everything it has built up over time. That’s why moments where you try to update things are always difficult,” Okada says. “But right now, we’re in the middle of that transformation.”

That is an evolution that Okada hopes to support through his work, both in front of and behind the camera. If he can create avenues for new generations of talent to carry Japanese media to a broader audience and his team to achieve greater success on a global stage, “that would make me very happy,” he says. “I want to keep doing whatever I can to help make that possible.”

_{The first season of Last Samurai Standing is streaming on Netflix now, and a second season was just confirmed.}

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Geoffrey Bunting

Technology

Free up iPhone storage by deleting large attachments

Published

12 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Free up iPhone storage by deleting large attachments

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If your iPhone keeps warning you about low storage, your Messages app may be part of the problem. Photos, videos and documents saved inside your text threads can stack up fast. The good news is that you can clear those big files without erasing entire conversations.

Below, you will find simple steps that work on the latest iOS 26.1. These steps help you clean up storage while keeping your messages right where you want them.

If you haven’t updated to iOS 26.1, go to Settings > General > Software Update to install the latest version.

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‘CLOUD STORAGE FULL’ SCAM STEALS YOUR PHOTOS AND MONEY

An iPhone displays a low-storage alert as large photos, videos and documents saved in Messages fill device space, prompting users to remove files without deleting entire conversations. (Cyberguy.com)

Why clearing attachments helps your iPhone run better

Removing large attachments gives you quick breathing room on your iPhone. It can free up gigabytes in seconds, especially if you text lots of photos or videos. Clearing old files also keeps your message threads tidy and helps your device run more smoothly by reducing the amount of storage your system needs to manage. The best part is that you can clean up everything without losing a single conversation.

How to delete attachments but keep your conversations on iPhone

These quick steps help you clear large files from Messages while keeping every conversation intact.

Launch the Messages app on your iPhone
Open the conversation thread that holds the attachments you want to delete.
Tap on the name of the contact(s) in the text thread.

To the right of Info, click on Photos or Documents; you may need to swipe over other tabs to see these. Photos will also contain videos and GIFs, while documents will contain Word documents, PDFs and other types of files.

Hold your finger and long-press on a photo, video or document until a menu appears.
Tap Delete to remove that single file.

Then confirm Delete when asked.

How to delete multiple files on your iPhone at once

To clear out several attachments at once, follow these quick steps on your iPhone.

Deleting attachments in Messages quickly frees space without losing your conversations. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Go back to the Photos or Documents tab.
Tap Edit.
Click Select documents or Select Photos
Tap on the photos or documents that you want to remove. You will see a blue checkmark appear in the bottom-right corner.
Tap the trash icon in the bottom right corner.

Confirm you want to delete the selected attachments by clicking Delete Photos.

These steps work almost the same way on an iPad. After you finish, you will often see an instant boost in available storage.

How to review large attachments in settings and delete them

If you want to clear the biggest files on your device, you can check them from your iPhone’s storage screen and delete them:

Open Settings
Tap General
Choose iPhone Storage
Tap Messages
Click Review Large Attachments to see photos, videos and attachments taking up storage in Messages.
Click Edit.
Select items to delete by clicking the circle next to the attachment you want to delete. A blue checkmark will appear.

Then, tap the trash can icon in the upper right to delete it.

APPLE RELEASES IOS 26.1 WITH MAJOR SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS AND NEW FEATURES FOR IPHONE USERS

This method gives you a quick overview of what takes up the most space and lets you delete it quickly.

IPhone users can clear large photos, videos and files from Messages using built-in storage tools, helping free space, keep conversations intact and improve device performance. (Cyberguy.com)

Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?

Kurt’s key takeaways

Freeing up storage doesn’t have to be confusing. A few quick taps can remove bulky files and keep your conversations intact. With these simple steps, your iPhone stays organized, runs smoothly and is ready for more photos, videos and apps.

What is the one type of attachment that takes up the most space on your iPhone? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com

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Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide — free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter