It doesn’t matter if your password consists of 32 letters, letters and numbers, and it will take several quintillion years to crack it – it is not secure. In fact, everything about the Internet is insecure!
This is due to the fact that password protection is provided not only at the discretion of the user who created it, but also the server on which it is stored. For a website to verify your credentials, your password must be stored in their database. This means that if the server mishandles it or gets hacked, you will pay the price.
As we move to the Internet, where we started thinking about replacing traditional passwords, password dump websites are becoming more and more popular.
The most unfortunate thing is that these dumps often come from hacked websites rather than users, which seems incredibly unfair to those of us who suffer the consequences.
There is nothing we can do to change the fact that databases are vulnerable to hacks and that our data is not sacred, so we must learn to do the next best thing: constantly monitor our password leaks on the Internet.
In this article, let’s take a look at some of the best websites to help you track your password leaks online.
You’ve been Pwned
Let’s talk about the name first. The word “pwn” is a form of vocabulary derived from “own,” a term that people often use in internet culture – usually gamers – to describe how to beat someone in some way.
To use Have I Been Pwned, just enter your email address and click pwned? Button.
You will either (luckily) be told that your passwords are safe, or you will see how many compromised sites your passwords were found on.
After that, Have I Been Pwned will show you a list of all websites and will insert your passwords where your passwords were found.
Have I Been Pwned also includes a section of their site called “Pwned Passwords” where you can search by password instead of email. This will let you know if this password is in dumpsters on the Internet.
Have I Been Pwned is generally considered the gold standard for password monitoring, and we recommend that you test it first.
Karma credit
Credit Karma has a reputation as the leading service for tracking your credit, but did you know they also have amazing data monitoring features, including password cracking?
Credit Karma beats all other password monitoring sites, even showing you the censored version of the password leaked on each of the listed sites. All you need to do is log in, go to their Personality Monitoring page and click View Details under the Data Leak Monitoring table.
The only downside is that you need to create a Credit Karma account to see these results. However, is that bad? Isn’t it a little weird that these other password dump monitors let you look up any email address? This can lead to nefarious actions.
If you already have a Credit Karma account, use it. This is one of the most underused ways to track your passwords on the Internet. Take advantage of this and you will know exactly which of your passwords to remove.
DeHashed
DeHashed is an interesting feature for the average password dump monitor, allowing you to search not only by email but also by username, address, etc. After that, click the Search button to see the results.
When you search, DeHashed will display the sites that leaked your password. However, you won’t be able to view the dump or see the specific password without registering and paying. However, simply viewing the results provides a lot of information that you can use to protect yourself.
DeHashed is a secure final choice that can help you find leaked passwords that Have I Been Pwned and Credit Karma were unable to capture. While it is slightly lacking in features compared to the other two, it doesn’t hurt to see what DeHashed has to offer. This may save some of your passwords.
Last month alone, a Collection # 1 credential dump was released with over 2.7 billion entries. This happens on a smaller scale every week. It is a powerless feeling to know that we cannot stop it, but we must stay informed and be ready to act when it happens. It also helps to create a strong password for every site you sign up for.
Check your email and passwords monthly with Have I Been Pwned, Credit Karma and DeHashed You will be able to jump on leaks as soon as they appear, and you may be surprised at what you find!
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