You do everything in your power to protect your information from cyber breaches, but unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to protect your information from a large-scale data breach. Since 2012, data breaches have been occurring all over the world. Companies you trust your data to frequently fall victim to cyber-attacks. Sometimes they are forthcoming and share that they have been breached. In many instances, companies keep this a secret. When criminals get access to your personal information, they usually sell it on the dark web where they can make large amounts of money. Do you know if your passwords are being sold on the dark web? If you don't, you need to use the following methods to find out.
The dark web is the underbelly of the internet and actually, there is more information floating around on the dark web than there than what is on the internet as we know it. You are welcome to search the dark web for your leaked passwords using a Tor web browser, but you wouldn't be successful as the dark web doesn't advertise specific sites. You would need to know the IP address of each of the websites that hold hacked data. That's why you need to rely on these tools to track that information down.
1. Use a password manager. Hopefully, you know a password manager is a database of all of your passwords for your online accounts. Password managers are an important tool in your cybersecurity arsenal as they help you keep track of all of those hard-to-remember passwords in one place. The added bonus is most password managers have the ability to scour the dark web to see if your passwords are on hacker sites. You are probably tempted to keep your passwords in sources like an old bible, dictionary, or even in your contacts on your phone, but sources like that won't alert you if your favorite password shows up on a hacker site. Now you might be hesitant to use a password manager because of all of the recent hacks with LastPass, but there are plenty of password managers out there such as Dashlane, 1Password, and Keeper. You also have the option to use your favorite web browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Brave, Firefox, and Safari to store your passwords and monitor the dark web as well.
2. Use CyberNews Leaked Password Check. CyberNew checker is a great tool you can use to make sure your passwords aren't being sold on the dark web. To use this tool, click here. Once you visit this website, you need to enter your password. Once you do, you will get a list of sources where your password has been exposed.
3. Use HaveIBeenPwned. HaveIBeenPwned has been around for many years and is a great tool you can use to find out if your passwords are being leaked on the dark web. To use this tool, click here. Once you visit the website, just enter your email address or your phone number to see if a specific account was leaked on the dark web.
What if you discover your passwords are being sold? If you use any of these tools and discover your information is floating around for criminals to sell do the following:
- Change your passwords for the affected accounts. Yes, it's a pain to change a password for an online account, but you need to do it immediately. In fact, you need to change them on a regular basis because you never know when your information will be leaked in a large-scale data breach.
- Beware of phishing attempts on your accounts. Phishing comes in three forms, email phishing, text message fishing, and voice phishing. Phishing is the most common way systems are breached which is why you need to make sure you pay attention to the information that comes in on your devices. You can have the best protection in the world, but if you click on the wrong links, you're hacked.
- When you change passwords, use passphrases instead of passwords. Passphrases are two or more unrelated words that make up a secure password. Passphrases are best to use because you're more likely to create a password that is based on your own personal experiences and life, the information you are sharing on social media. Need passphrases, visit www.useapassphrase.com to create one.
Hopefully, this post has given you the tools you need to keep your passwords from being sold on the internet. If you need further assistance, please reach out to me with any questions you might have. I am always happy to help!
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