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Pin numbers.

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  • OriginalGriffO Offline
    OriginalGriffO Offline
    OriginalGriff
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    3.4M PIN numbers that were pulled together from a whole bunch of data breaches have been heat mapped, and they are quite interesting (to me at least): https://www.grc.com/miscfiles/pin.png[^] Given that most (if not all ATM / shop card readers work with 4 digit PINs, it's interesting to see what people generally use. Notice the lines and clusters: identical pairs (0000, 0101, ...) birthdate day and month, birth year seem to be pretty common, but it's interesting to note two things: 1) There are a small number of "empty" or "near empty" cells where people just aren't disposed to use that combination. 2) 20 out of the possible 10,000 different PIN values are used by 27% of the population ... so if you want to "brute force" a PIN, those are the ones to try first - if you are using one of them, it's probably time to change it:

    1234, 4321, 0000, 7777, 2000, 2222, 9999, 5555, 1122, 8888, 2001, 1111, 1212, 1004, 4444, 6969, 3333, 6666, 1313, 1010

    "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

    "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
    "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

    B A O Richard DeemingR H 12 Replies Last reply
    0
    • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

      3.4M PIN numbers that were pulled together from a whole bunch of data breaches have been heat mapped, and they are quite interesting (to me at least): https://www.grc.com/miscfiles/pin.png[^] Given that most (if not all ATM / shop card readers work with 4 digit PINs, it's interesting to see what people generally use. Notice the lines and clusters: identical pairs (0000, 0101, ...) birthdate day and month, birth year seem to be pretty common, but it's interesting to note two things: 1) There are a small number of "empty" or "near empty" cells where people just aren't disposed to use that combination. 2) 20 out of the possible 10,000 different PIN values are used by 27% of the population ... so if you want to "brute force" a PIN, those are the ones to try first - if you are using one of them, it's probably time to change it:

      1234, 4321, 0000, 7777, 2000, 2222, 9999, 5555, 1122, 8888, 2001, 1111, 1212, 1004, 4444, 6969, 3333, 6666, 1313, 1010

      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

      B Offline
      B Offline
      Bassam Abdul Baki
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      Very interesting picture. Any four consecutive digits appear to be highly used.

      Web - BM - Math - LinkedIn

      OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • B Bassam Abdul Baki

        Very interesting picture. Any four consecutive digits appear to be highly used.

        Web - BM - Math - LinkedIn

        OriginalGriffO Offline
        OriginalGriffO Offline
        OriginalGriff
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Yeah - it's surprising how much human beings can skew what you might assume was pretty random data!

        "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

        "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
        "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

        B 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

          3.4M PIN numbers that were pulled together from a whole bunch of data breaches have been heat mapped, and they are quite interesting (to me at least): https://www.grc.com/miscfiles/pin.png[^] Given that most (if not all ATM / shop card readers work with 4 digit PINs, it's interesting to see what people generally use. Notice the lines and clusters: identical pairs (0000, 0101, ...) birthdate day and month, birth year seem to be pretty common, but it's interesting to note two things: 1) There are a small number of "empty" or "near empty" cells where people just aren't disposed to use that combination. 2) 20 out of the possible 10,000 different PIN values are used by 27% of the population ... so if you want to "brute force" a PIN, those are the ones to try first - if you are using one of them, it's probably time to change it:

          1234, 4321, 0000, 7777, 2000, 2222, 9999, 5555, 1122, 8888, 2001, 1111, 1212, 1004, 4444, 6969, 3333, 6666, 1313, 1010

          "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

          A Offline
          A Offline
          Amarnath S
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Banks (in India, most probably elsewhere too) block the login after three incorrect PIN entries (to unlock which the customer has to complete some formalities after visiting a bank branch). So, the customer has at least some protection.

          M 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

            3.4M PIN numbers that were pulled together from a whole bunch of data breaches have been heat mapped, and they are quite interesting (to me at least): https://www.grc.com/miscfiles/pin.png[^] Given that most (if not all ATM / shop card readers work with 4 digit PINs, it's interesting to see what people generally use. Notice the lines and clusters: identical pairs (0000, 0101, ...) birthdate day and month, birth year seem to be pretty common, but it's interesting to note two things: 1) There are a small number of "empty" or "near empty" cells where people just aren't disposed to use that combination. 2) 20 out of the possible 10,000 different PIN values are used by 27% of the population ... so if you want to "brute force" a PIN, those are the ones to try first - if you are using one of them, it's probably time to change it:

            1234, 4321, 0000, 7777, 2000, 2222, 9999, 5555, 1122, 8888, 2001, 1111, 1212, 1004, 4444, 6969, 3333, 6666, 1313, 1010

            "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

            O Offline
            O Offline
            obermd
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            I have yet to understand how PIN numbers are more secure than passwords. Face it, there are only 10,000 combinations, yet even an alphabetic, case insensitive, PIN would have 456,976 combinations. I would expect being able to brute force a pin number, regardless of length, would be easy for modern computers that can break 128-bit key based encryption systems in hours.

            M G T 3 Replies Last reply
            0
            • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

              3.4M PIN numbers that were pulled together from a whole bunch of data breaches have been heat mapped, and they are quite interesting (to me at least): https://www.grc.com/miscfiles/pin.png[^] Given that most (if not all ATM / shop card readers work with 4 digit PINs, it's interesting to see what people generally use. Notice the lines and clusters: identical pairs (0000, 0101, ...) birthdate day and month, birth year seem to be pretty common, but it's interesting to note two things: 1) There are a small number of "empty" or "near empty" cells where people just aren't disposed to use that combination. 2) 20 out of the possible 10,000 different PIN values are used by 27% of the population ... so if you want to "brute force" a PIN, those are the ones to try first - if you are using one of them, it's probably time to change it:

              1234, 4321, 0000, 7777, 2000, 2222, 9999, 5555, 1122, 8888, 2001, 1111, 1212, 1004, 4444, 6969, 3333, 6666, 1313, 1010

              "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

              Richard DeemingR Offline
              Richard DeemingR Offline
              Richard Deeming
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              OriginalGriff wrote:

              1234

              "That's amazing. I've got the same combination on my luggage." :laugh:


              "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

              "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined" - Homer

              K 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                Yeah - it's surprising how much human beings can skew what you might assume was pretty random data!

                "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                B Offline
                B Offline
                Bassam Abdul Baki
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                We're all a bunch of skew be do's. These numbers are interesting (7410, 7942, 8520) since they don't seem to follow any pattern.

                Web - BM - Math - LinkedIn

                D M 2 Replies Last reply
                0
                • O obermd

                  I have yet to understand how PIN numbers are more secure than passwords. Face it, there are only 10,000 combinations, yet even an alphabetic, case insensitive, PIN would have 456,976 combinations. I would expect being able to brute force a pin number, regardless of length, would be easy for modern computers that can break 128-bit key based encryption systems in hours.

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  Maximilien
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  They are not necessarily safer, just a lot more convenient. I think the banking industry (where PIN are used a lot ) weighted the pros and cons of 4 or 5 digits PIN and decided that there is a risk, but it's manageable. Also, I can't imagine having an ATM with a full keyboard and my dad trying to enter his password.

                  CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair

                  OriginalGriffO 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • Richard DeemingR Richard Deeming

                    OriginalGriff wrote:

                    1234

                    "That's amazing. I've got the same combination on my luggage." :laugh:


                    "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer

                    K Offline
                    K Offline
                    Kschuler
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    "I've lost the bleeps. I've lost the creeps. And I've lost the sweeps."

                    G 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • M Maximilien

                      They are not necessarily safer, just a lot more convenient. I think the banking industry (where PIN are used a lot ) weighted the pros and cons of 4 or 5 digits PIN and decided that there is a risk, but it's manageable. Also, I can't imagine having an ATM with a full keyboard and my dad trying to enter his password.

                      CI/CD = Continuous Impediment/Continuous Despair

                      OriginalGriffO Offline
                      OriginalGriffO Offline
                      OriginalGriff
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      Your pasword must contain ...[^]

                      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
                      "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt

                      M 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • B Bassam Abdul Baki

                        We're all a bunch of skew be do's. These numbers are interesting (7410, 7942, 8520) since they don't seem to follow any pattern.

                        Web - BM - Math - LinkedIn

                        D Offline
                        D Offline
                        Dave Kreskowiak
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        No pattern? 7410 goes down one side of a standard keypad, while 8520 goes down the middle.

                        Asking questions is a skill CodeProject Forum Guidelines Google: C# How to debug code Seriously, go read these articles. Dave Kreskowiak

                        B M 2 Replies Last reply
                        0
                        • D Dave Kreskowiak

                          No pattern? 7410 goes down one side of a standard keypad, while 8520 goes down the middle.

                          Asking questions is a skill CodeProject Forum Guidelines Google: C# How to debug code Seriously, go read these articles. Dave Kreskowiak

                          B Offline
                          B Offline
                          Bassam Abdul Baki
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          Totally missed that. Thanks!

                          Web - BM - Math - LinkedIn

                          R 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                            3.4M PIN numbers that were pulled together from a whole bunch of data breaches have been heat mapped, and they are quite interesting (to me at least): https://www.grc.com/miscfiles/pin.png[^] Given that most (if not all ATM / shop card readers work with 4 digit PINs, it's interesting to see what people generally use. Notice the lines and clusters: identical pairs (0000, 0101, ...) birthdate day and month, birth year seem to be pretty common, but it's interesting to note two things: 1) There are a small number of "empty" or "near empty" cells where people just aren't disposed to use that combination. 2) 20 out of the possible 10,000 different PIN values are used by 27% of the population ... so if you want to "brute force" a PIN, those are the ones to try first - if you are using one of them, it's probably time to change it:

                            1234, 4321, 0000, 7777, 2000, 2222, 9999, 5555, 1122, 8888, 2001, 1111, 1212, 1004, 4444, 6969, 3333, 6666, 1313, 1010

                            "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                            H Offline
                            H Offline
                            honey the codewitch
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            I use the last 4 digits of old phone numbers I've had, like from my childhood. I'm not likely to forget them, and good luck tying them to me.

                            Check out my IoT graphics library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx And my IoT UI/User Experience library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix

                            D J T 3 Replies Last reply
                            0
                            • H honey the codewitch

                              I use the last 4 digits of old phone numbers I've had, like from my childhood. I'm not likely to forget them, and good luck tying them to me.

                              Check out my IoT graphics library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx And my IoT UI/User Experience library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix

                              D Offline
                              D Offline
                              dandy72
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              honey the codewitch wrote:

                              good luck tying them to me.

                              My phone number (number*s*, now that I've joined the club and carry a phone) has had the same last 4 digits for my entire life... If I used that as my PIN, anyone who knows my phone number would have a pretty good chance at guessing it.

                              H 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • D dandy72

                                honey the codewitch wrote:

                                good luck tying them to me.

                                My phone number (number*s*, now that I've joined the club and carry a phone) has had the same last 4 digits for my entire life... If I used that as my PIN, anyone who knows my phone number would have a pretty good chance at guessing it.

                                H Offline
                                H Offline
                                honey the codewitch
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                You have the same phone number you did when you were a child? :confused:

                                Check out my IoT graphics library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/gfx And my IoT UI/User Experience library here: https://honeythecodewitch.com/uix

                                G D 2 Replies Last reply
                                0
                                • B Bassam Abdul Baki

                                  We're all a bunch of skew be do's. These numbers are interesting (7410, 7942, 8520) since they don't seem to follow any pattern.

                                  Web - BM - Math - LinkedIn

                                  M Offline
                                  M Offline
                                  MarkTJohnson
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  7410 is down the left hand side of the number keys pad of a full size keyboard. 8520 is the middle, it gets zero too since the zero key is usually a double width key. No idea about the 7942 though.

                                  I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated. I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.

                                  M 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • D Dave Kreskowiak

                                    No pattern? 7410 goes down one side of a standard keypad, while 8520 goes down the middle.

                                    Asking questions is a skill CodeProject Forum Guidelines Google: C# How to debug code Seriously, go read these articles. Dave Kreskowiak

                                    M Offline
                                    M Offline
                                    MarkTJohnson
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    That's what I get for responding to a stale screen and not updating before I post. Wasn't trying to steal thunder or anything.

                                    I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated. I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                                      3.4M PIN numbers that were pulled together from a whole bunch of data breaches have been heat mapped, and they are quite interesting (to me at least): https://www.grc.com/miscfiles/pin.png[^] Given that most (if not all ATM / shop card readers work with 4 digit PINs, it's interesting to see what people generally use. Notice the lines and clusters: identical pairs (0000, 0101, ...) birthdate day and month, birth year seem to be pretty common, but it's interesting to note two things: 1) There are a small number of "empty" or "near empty" cells where people just aren't disposed to use that combination. 2) 20 out of the possible 10,000 different PIN values are used by 27% of the population ... so if you want to "brute force" a PIN, those are the ones to try first - if you are using one of them, it's probably time to change it:

                                      1234, 4321, 0000, 7777, 2000, 2222, 9999, 5555, 1122, 8888, 2001, 1111, 1212, 1004, 4444, 6969, 3333, 6666, 1313, 1010

                                      "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                                      M Offline
                                      M Offline
                                      MarkTJohnson
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      Now someone needs to pin this post. We should probably do it in numbers.

                                      I’ve given up trying to be calm. However, I am open to feeling slightly less agitated. I’m begging you for the benefit of everyone, don’t be STUPID.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • O obermd

                                        I have yet to understand how PIN numbers are more secure than passwords. Face it, there are only 10,000 combinations, yet even an alphabetic, case insensitive, PIN would have 456,976 combinations. I would expect being able to brute force a pin number, regardless of length, would be easy for modern computers that can break 128-bit key based encryption systems in hours.

                                        G Offline
                                        G Offline
                                        GKP1992
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        obermd wrote:

                                        I have yet to understand how PIN numbers are more secure than passwords.

                                        It is most likely a numeric pin and not a password because manufacturing and maintaining a numeric keypad ATM machine is far more economical than producing one with a full fledged QWERTY keyboard. It almost always comes down to the costs.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                                          3.4M PIN numbers that were pulled together from a whole bunch of data breaches have been heat mapped, and they are quite interesting (to me at least): https://www.grc.com/miscfiles/pin.png[^] Given that most (if not all ATM / shop card readers work with 4 digit PINs, it's interesting to see what people generally use. Notice the lines and clusters: identical pairs (0000, 0101, ...) birthdate day and month, birth year seem to be pretty common, but it's interesting to note two things: 1) There are a small number of "empty" or "near empty" cells where people just aren't disposed to use that combination. 2) 20 out of the possible 10,000 different PIN values are used by 27% of the population ... so if you want to "brute force" a PIN, those are the ones to try first - if you are using one of them, it's probably time to change it:

                                          1234, 4321, 0000, 7777, 2000, 2222, 9999, 5555, 1122, 8888, 2001, 1111, 1212, 1004, 4444, 6969, 3333, 6666, 1313, 1010

                                          "I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                                          R Offline
                                          R Offline
                                          RedDk
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          As having personally used a pin number I had to guess in order to use, I'd have to say "It's not how you used the pin number to "get in", it's how do you change it that really matters".

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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