19 billion passwords have leaked online: How to protect yourself

Passwords are outdated and it's time for both tech companies and users to move on There I explained it Like it or not the weakest link in cybersecurity is anything that relies on human input While organizations continue to invest in firewalls and endpoint prevention the the bulk persistent vulnerability remains the human password The internet has long struggled with poor password practices but a latest discovery highlights just how serious the dilemma is Measure researchers have uncovered more than billion newly leaked passwords collected from hundreds of breaches between April and April An astonishing of these passwords were either reused predictable or both Join The FREE CyberGuy Account Get my expert tech tips critical defense alerts and specific deals plus instant access to my free Ultimate Scam Survival Guide when you sign up Between April and April facts from nearly separate cybersecurity incidents became publicly available as discovered by Cybernews These were not isolated events They involved massive leak repositories including combolists stealer logs and compromised databases In total over terabytes of raw leaked records were analyzed comprising more than billion passwords Only percent of these just over billion were unique Among the bulk used passwords appeared in over million instances Words like Password and admin followed close behind despite years of population warnings Such defaults often originate from devices like routers or enterprise tools where they are rarely changed and frequently reused elsewhere BILLION PASSWORDS LEAKED ON DARK WEB AND WHY YOURS IS AT RISKPersonal names remain a common pattern as well The name Ana appeared in nearly million passwords followed by countless other first names and name-based combinations Pop practices food cities and even swear words were frequent themes Words like Mario love pizza Rome and various profanities were not just creative choices They are now precaution liabilities Even worse attackers do not need to guess anymore They have automation Credential stuffing tools now run through billions of known passwords across hundreds of platforms breaching accounts at success rates as high as two percent That equates to thousands of compromised profiles bank accounts emails and cloud tools every single day MILLION SOCIAL MEDIA RECORDS LEAKED IN MAJOR X INPUT BREACHAccording to CyberNews researcher Neringa Macijauskaite the core issue is not just weak passwords but how often they are reused Only six percent of passwords are unique For the majority users prevention depends entirely on two-factor authentication if it is enabled at all The majority passwords fall between eight to characters with eight being the the bulk common Around percent of them contain only lowercase letters and digits making them highly vulnerable to brute force attacks Less than percent use a mix of cases and numbers and only a small fraction includes symbols HOW SECURE IS MY PASSWORD USE THIS TEST TO FIND OUTDespite widespread schooling efforts user habits remain stagnant but one positive trend has emerged In only one percent of passwords used a mix of lowercase uppercase numbers and symbols Now that figure has grown to percent likely driven by stricter password requirements across platforms Get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web HR FIRM CONFIRMS M RECORDS EXPOSED IN MAJOR HACKReused or weak passwords pose a massive threat not just to individuals but to organizations A single compromised password can trigger a domino effect exposing multiple accounts across services Consider using a password manager to generate and store complex passwords Get more details about my best expert-reviewed Password Managers of here Protecting your material requires a mix of smart measure habits and reliable tools Here are four effective techniques to keep your information safe Enable two-factor authentication FA Even if your password is stolen FA adds an extra layer of prevention by requiring a second form of verification such as a code from an authentication app or biometric confirmation Cybercriminals rely on stolen usernames and passwords to break into accounts but with FA enabled they cannot gain access without the additional defense step Make sure to enable FA on pivotal accounts like email banking and work-related logins Use strong antivirus utility and be cautious with downloads and links Infostealer malware is the root cause of why your password is out there It often spreads through malicious downloads phishing emails and fake websites Avoid downloading program or files from untrusted sources and dependably double-check links before clicking them Attackers disguise malware as legitimate program encounter cheats or cracked applications so it is best to stick to official websites and app stores for downloads The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware potentially accessing your private information is to have strong antivirus tool installed on all your devices This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams keeping your personal information and digital assets safe Get my picks for the best antivirus protection winners for your Windows Mac Android and iOS devices Keep solution updated Cybercriminals exploit outdated program to deliver malware Keeping your operating system browsers and precaution platform up to date ensures that known vulnerabilities are patched Enable automatic updates whenever accomplishable and install reputable antivirus or endpoint protection program that can detect and block infostealer threats before they compromise your system Consider a personal facts removal organization These services can help remove your personal information from content broker sites reducing your peril of identity theft spam and targeted scams While no provision can guarantee the complete removal of your material from the internet a figures removal organization is really a smart choice They aren t cheap and neither is your privacy These services do all the work for you by actively monitoring and systematically erasing your personal information from hundreds of websites It s what gives me peace of mind and has proven to be the the greater part effective way to erase your personal statistics from the internet By limiting the information available you reduce the jeopardy of scammers cross-referencing statistics from breaches with information they might find on the dark web making it harder for them to target you Check out my top picks for evidence removal services here SUBSCRIBE TO KURT S YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR QUICK VIDEO TIPS ON HOW TO WORK ALL OF YOUR TECH DEVICESWhen it comes down to it passwords just aren't cutting it anymore The sheer number of leaked passwords and the fact that so limited are unique show how vulnerable we really are Cybercriminals are getting smarter and faster but we don't have to make it easy for them By using password managers enabling two-factor authentication keeping our system updated and considering extra privacy tools we can take back certain control over this situation It might take a little effort to change old habits but the peace of mind you get is worth it How multiple of your accounts use the same password or a variation of it Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy com ContactFor more of my tech tips and shield alerts subscribe to my free CyberGuy Record Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy com NewsletterAsk Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to cover Follow Kurt on his social channels Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions New from Kurt Copyright CyberGuy com All rights reserved