by William Bruce

Dashlane, a website password security company, has surveyed the top 100 American online retailers to assess their password security policies. The survey produced surprising results.

Apple received the highest rating and was the only retailer to receive a perfect score, while Newegg, Microsoft, Chegg and Target, surprisingly, rounded out the other highest scoring online retailers.

MLB.com, Karmaloop and Dick’s Sporting Goods received the lowest scores. Amazon, Walmart, Victoria’s Secret and Toys “R” Us were also among the lowest ranked sites.

Some key findings:

• 55 percent of online retailers still accept notoriously weak passwords such as “123456” or “password.”
• 51 percent make no attempt to block entry after 10 incorrect password entries including Amazon, Dell, Best Buy, Macy’s and Williams-Sonoma.
• 61 percent to do not provide any advice on how to create a strong password during sign up, and 93 percent do not provide an on-screen password strength assessment.
• Eight sites including Toys “R” Us, J.Crew and 1-800Flowers.com send passwords in plain text via email.

Listed below from best to worst are the rankings of America’s top 100 online retailers:

1. Apple
2. Microsoft
3. Chegg
4. Newegg
5. Target
6. Williams-Sonoma
7. CDW
8. Amway
9. Musician’s Friend
10. Nike
11. Best Buy
12. WW Grainger
13. Walgreens
14. Express
15. Sony
16. Abercombie & Fitch
17. Bass Pro Outdoor
18. CVS
19. MSC Industrial Supply
20. Hayneedle
21. Oriental Trading Co.
22. The Children’s Place Retail Stores
23. OfficeMax
24. Nordstrom
25. Deluxe Corp.
26. Crate and Barrel
27. American Eagle
28. Ann Inc.
29. Sears
30. Dell
31. Neiman Marcus
32. Saks
33. Lowe’s
34. LL Bean
35. Avon Products
36. DSW
37. JC Penny
38. Foot Locker
39. Costco
40. Gap
41. Green Mountain Coffee
42.  GameStop
43. Chico’s FAS
44. Gilt Groupe
45. Estee Lauder
46. PC Connection
47. HSN
48. Etsy
49. The Home Depot
50. Staples
51. Barnes and Noble
52. ShopNBC
53. CafePress
54. Office Depot
55. Macy’s
56. HP Home/Office Store
57. Rakuten
58. Cabela’s
59. Ralph Lauren
60. Build
61. Sierra Trading Post
62. Northern Tool
63. Amazon
64. Walmart
65. Kohl’s
66. Fingerhut (Bluestern Brands)
67. Scholastic Inc.
68.  Eddie Bauer
69. 1 Sale a Day
70. Victoria’s Secret
71. Overstock
72. Vistaprint
73. Fanatics
74. Urban Outfitters
75. Shutterfly
76. Wayfair
77. PCM
78. Groupon
79. REI
80. Blue Nile
81. Fresh Direct
82. RueLaLa
83. Zulily
84.  1-800 Contacts
85. Disney Store
86. Net-A-Porter
87. Hulu
88. Shoebuy
89. Edible Arrangement
90. Restoration Hardware
91. 1-800 Flowers
92. Vitacost
93. Nutrisystem
94. American Girl
95. J. Crew
96. Toys R Us
97. Aeropostale
98. Dick’s Sporting Goods
99. Karmaloop
100. MLB

To review the full study results, please click here.