But there’s good news you should know about!
There’s a considerable chance that hackers have already figured out your favorite passwords. Even worse, those of them able to hack larger websites (such as LinkedIn or Yahoo) often share their findings on huge online databases. And since so many of us have the same username and password combinations across multiple platforms, it’s easy for these cyber criminals to infiltrate our accounts.
Cryptography experts from Stanford University have teamed up with Google to create a free new tool. The “Password Checkup” extension lets us know when our login information has been compromised, and it’s offered on Chrome browsers. Here’s how it works: when logging in, Google cross-checks these aforementioned online databases to make sure none of your credentials have been compromised. They’ll prompt you to change the password immediately, if it finds that they have.
Your passwords are invisible to Google in this extension. This is an added peace of mind for those who just aren’t Google fans. Still not convinced? Other password managers like Dashlane and 1Password should do the trick. Just make sure you’re taking advantage of at least one of them.