How to find out if your password has been leaked
The easiest and most popular way to find out if your password is up for grabs is to check out Have I Been Pwned? (HIBP). Created by Microsoft regional director and cybersecurity whizz Troy Hunt, this free tool has become the most efficient way for users to quickly check if their password or phone number has leaked online. Simply type in your email address or phone number with your country code, and the website will notify you if your credentials have been compromised. What’s more, it also has a password checker that goes through hundreds of millions of passwords that have been part of data breaches — letting you know if it’s suitable to use or continue using. You might be thinking “wait, if I put in my password on this site, won’t hackers have a chance to nab it?” Don’t fret, as HIBP has various privacy measures set up so you can use the website safely. Compromised email addresses and passwords that appear in a breach are shown, but “but no information about which email addresses had corresponding passwords nor what those passwords are is stored.” Thanks to Cloudflare k-anonymity implementation and having passwords hashed client-side with the SHA-1 algorithm, HIBP never receives the original password and doesn’t have enough information for hackers to discover the original password. For a better look at how the website keeps everything secure, including blocking malicious requests, check out its privacy page. The website offers a selection of handy tools, including being able to be notified if your account is compromised, seeing all the websites that are known to have had breaches, and the number of accounts that have been breached. It’s a good way for anyone to check if their accounts are at risk, and it’s worth doing every once in a while to stay on top of your online security.
Keeping your password secure
Of course, if your account has been compromised, you’re going to want to change your password post-haste. Check out this simple trick to create a strong password, and be sure to use one of the best password managers around to keep your account secured.
