No of course not. How could it be?

Well if you use the same password repeatedly with your email address it is quite likely that it is out there and you don’t know it. Mine was.

551,509,767 real world passwords have been exposed in data breaches. This exposure makes them unsuitable for ongoing use as they're at much greater risk of being used to take over other accounts.

The term used for this malpractice on the internet is pwned meaning ‘get the better of’.

So how can I check if one of my passwords has been pwned?

Fortunately it’s quite easy, as a domain search allows you to find all email addresses on a particular domain that have been caught up in any of the data breaches currently in the system. You can also receive notifications if they appear in future breached by providing a notification email.

Here is the link https://haveibeenpwned.com/

If your email address is on the list you should change all your passwords that use that address. The website will recommend you use 1Password, which is a great tool, to create and store secure passwords. At Guilford Accounting we use LastPass which is just as good and there are others. Find one that works for you.

As they used to say on Hill Street Blues ‘stay safe out there’

 

Noel Guilford