Track: Security, Privacy, Reliability and Ethics
Paper Title:
A Large-Scale Study of Web Password Habits
Authors:
Abstract:
We report the results of a large scale study of password use and
password re-use habits. The study involved half a million users over a
three month period. A client component on users' machines recorded a
variety of password strength, usage and frequency metrics. This allows us
to measure or estimate such quantities as the average number of passwords
and average number of accounts each user has, how many passwords she types
per day, how often passwords are shared among sites, and how often they are
forgotten. We get extremely detailed data on password strength, the types
and lengths of passwords chosen, and how they vary by site. The data is the
first large scale study of its kind, and yields numerous other insights
into the role the passwords play in users' online experience.
