No matter how strong you set your login credentials, they might be compromised if a website where you previously logged in has a data breach. Consequently, if the breached data is leaked publicly, anyone can log in to your account.
While some websites offer notification when someone attempts to access your account from another device, not all websites have this feature. Therefore, you may be completely unaware if someone tries to access your account. So it is always a good idea to check if your passwords have been compromised.
Check Compromised Password On Browser
Most browsers allow you to check if a password is compromised. It checks the database of breached websites and determines if it matches the username and password saved on the browser.
So first, you need to have thepassword saved on the browserto check whether the password has been compromised.
On Google Chrome
For the Chrome browser, you can either use your Google account or the browser itself to check for a compromised password.
Alternatively, you may also check the saved password from Chrome’s browser settings.
On Edge
Microsoft Edge checks the saved password in the database of known public data leaks that are stored on the internet. If any username/email and password match the username-password from the leaks, you will get an alert about a compromised password.
On Firefox
Firefox checks the date of the website breach and the date you saved the password for that particular website. If the website was breached after you saved the password, youget an alertabout breached data.
Check Compromised Password on iOS
iOS devices have their own password manager service where the device monitors the password and checks if they appear in a data leak. Besides this, the manager also identifies whether the password has been used multiple times.
Check Compromised Password on macOS
you’re able to use macOS’s built-in password manager to save passwords and check if any of them are compromised.
Check for Data Breaches
A website named Have I Been Pwned keeps a database of breached websites. When you provide your email address, it then checks the database of leaked data for your email address. you’re able to use this website to check if any of your accounts was involved in a data leak.
What Can I Do if My Passwords Are Compromised?
A compromised password may not always mean that the account is hacked. It just means that the passwords are now public, and anyone can access the account.
You need to make sure that the account is not accessed by anyone. If it is not accessed, the first and obvious thing to do is change the password to those websites right away. If you have the same password set in other accounts, we recommend that you change them as well.
When resetting a password, make sure that you create a strong password to avoid brute-force cracking. Your password should include numbers, uppercase, and lowercase symbols and should be at least 10 characters long.
If possible, enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on websites that contain sensitive information. It makes it impossible to log in to a new device without an OTP.
However, if the account has been hacked, breached website might send you a notification if a user from a new device is trying to log in to your account. Even if someone changes the password, you might be able to get the account back using the password reset OTP or links.
