People usually gravitate to popular choices but for better security, especially of our finances, the best option is obscurity, a new study said.

Tech consultancy firm DataGenetics recently analysed a database of 3.4 million passwords, all of them compromised, and as it turned out, the most popular password combinations were the most vulnerable too - be they numeric or alphanumeric.

The same analysis is applicable to the personal identification number (PIN) used by many on their credit card and ATM, meaning these users have greater risks of losing their cash to thieves if their digital lock is way too popular.

That also reads very predictable, the DataGenetics report said.

The firm's gauge for predictability is mostly represented by its list of 20 very common PINs employed by credit card and ATM owners, which range from too easily guessed numerical combinations to number patterns that represent certain significance to users.

Top three on the list are the combinations 1234, 1111 and 0000, which the study said registered a combined frequency use of around 18 per cent. That means many card users had opted not to change the default PIN that was deployed with their electronic bank access.

The 1234 combination alone, according to Lifehacker, was picked by 11 per cent of the more than three million password users studied by DataGenetics researchers, indicating too lax efforts on the part of back account owners to increase their security firewall breaches.

At least 10,000 combinations were available on the four-digit protection category but obviously many users had neglected not to avail higher protection levels, Lifehacker added.

DataGenetics also called attention on the danger of using birth dates, anniversary or other number combinations that point to personal significance.

They are highly predictable because ATMs and credit cards are normally lost with a person's wallet, which in many cases contains documents that give out personal details, making it much easier for thieves to run away with your money.

The report actually discouraged the used of PINs that connote dates, specifically those starting with 19__ as the likelihood of breaking such codes is as high as 80 per cent, according to Slate.com.

PINs that users prefer to create patterns are virtual invitation for thieves to easily unlock your electronic vault, DataGenetics said. The most popular, 2580, which in ATM keypads lead to a straight line, is not exactly a mysterious code, the report added.

The new report also pointed to PIN codes that deemed as solid walls between users and would-be pilfers.

The top five, according to Slate, is composed of the following: 8068, 8093, 9629, 6835 and 7637. But the tech site noted that since DataGenetics had already published the supposedly robust codes, the strength of protection has been lost.

The findings, Lifehacker said, only confirmed an earlier study conducted by the Cambridge University, which concluded that credit card and ATM users were generally poor in coming up with PINs that would provide them higher levels of security.

Worst, the same study indicated too that about 50 per cent of card owners readily shared with others their PINs.