I’ve Been Pwned, now what?

 

The slang term “Pwned” has been around for a while on the internet. It has traditionally been a term used when playing video games, when you are badly beating your opponent. It has come to mean a different thing when it comes to data breaches, like the one that just happened, considered to be the “mother of all breaches.”

 

Haveibeenpwned.com is a reputable site that has been around for many years. It is a great tool to help you figure out where you need to change your passwords that might have been compromised.

 

Here’s how to use it:

• Enter the email address you want to check. The website will let you know which website breaches may have exposed your email address and password to hackers.
• Prioritize changing your passwords at these listed websites first!
• If you used the same password on these sites as other sites, change those passwords as well.

 

This last point is one of the many reasons we recommend different passwords for different sites. Once a hacker has one password, they may do what is called “credential stuffing” and try that password and email combo at a number of other common websites. Uh oh.

 

We recommend using a password manager (like 1Password) to help keep track of your passwords. It releases you from relying on your memory to keep track of passwords, which in turn allows you to have different passwords for every site.

 

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