These days, security breaches are in the news so often you may think there is no way to avoid having your information stolen. While no credentials are fully safe from hacking, using good password hygiene (not reusing passwords, using complex passwords, etc.) and staying on top of which of your accounts has been hacked can go a long way in keeping you safe.
Even if you watch or read news 24/7, it is impossible to keep up with all of the account breaches yourself. Luckily, https://haveibeenpwned.com/ exists to keep track of this for you.
The process is simple and free. Point your internet browser to https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and enter your email address.
When I put my personal email in, I got this message:
If I scroll down a bit, I can see the individual instances in which my information was compromised, along with more information about each particular hack:
What Do I Do with This Information?
Just because you have an account with a service that was breached doesn’t mean someone is actively using your account. It just means your information may be in the wrong hands. Knowing which accounts have been compromised can help you in the following ways:
- Quickly change passwords and/or associated email addresses to prevent someone taking over your account. Also change credentials for any other account that uses the same email/password combination.
- Get a heads up to check and make sure no unauthorized activity has happened on your compromised account.
- Evaluate whether this is a service/account you really need. If not, delete your account, if possible.
- Discover services you forgot you had signed up for!
Try It Out
Now it’s your turn to see if any of your email addresses have been pwned. If they have, there is no need to panic. Just follow the steps above to re-secure your accounts.