Apple.com does more to protect your password, study of top 100 sites finds
Which sites allow "123456"? Study names/shames the best/worst password policies.
by Dan Goodin Jan 24 2014 Ars Technica
Apple, Microsoft, Chegg, Newegg, and Target do the best job of safeguarding customer passwords, according to a comprehensive study of the top 100 e-commerce websites that also ranked Major League Baseball, Karmaloop, Dick's Sporting Goods, Toys R Us, and Aeropostale as performing the worst.
Apple.com was the only site to receive a perfect score of 100, which was based on 24 criteria, such as whether the site accepts "123456" and other extremely weak passwords and whether it sends passwords in plaintext by e-mail. Microsoft and academic supplier Chegg tied for second place with 65, while Newegg and Target came in third with 60. By contrast, MLB received a score of -75, Karmaloop a -70, Dick's Sporting Goods a -65, and Aeropostale and Toys R US each got a -60. Each site was awarded or deducted points based on each criterion, leading to a possible score from -100 and 100. The study was conducted by researchers from password manager Dashlane based on the password policies in effect on the top 100 e-commerce sites from January 17 through January 22.
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