See the best way to come up with a new username. We break down types of usernames and give you the best username ideas out there.

See the best way to come up with a new username. We break down types of usernames, why ...

How to Make a Good Username | Create a Unique and Secure Username

See the best way to come up with a new username. We break down types of usernames, why secure usernames are important, and how to create them effectively!

Passwords are a fact of life in the digital age.&nbsp;
We all know <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/variety-is-the-spice-of-life-and-the-key-to-security" style="color: #40d8e3;">the perils of using one password</a> for all our accounts. (It&rsquo;s basically like unlocking every room and safe in your house and then leaving the front door wide open.) However, creating unique and strong passwords for every account can be overwhelming.&nbsp;
Third-party password managers are a safe choice. Internet browsers are another popular option. Chrome is an internet browser that Google created and released in 2008. Initially designed for Windows XP, Chrome is now compatible with any platform, including Macs, PCs, and all types of mobile devices.&nbsp;
In 2022, Chrome dominated the global desktop web browser game, claiming nearly 70 percent of the market share. Its popularity is mainly due to its ease of use and customization options, such as extensions for ad blockers, language translators, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Google Chrome has made it easy to save and store your passwords in your browser, so you never have to remember them or type them in manually. Plus, it&rsquo;s free and already at your fingertips.&nbsp;
But is this method of storing your passwords secure? Here is all you need to know about Chrome password safety.&nbsp;
<h2>Is Google Chrome Password Manager Safe?</h2>
While better than having no password manager, Chrome password safety could be better. One of the most significant Chrome password security issues is that Chrome wasn't built to be a password manager. It's an added feature&mdash;an afterthought. Chrome was solely constructed and optimized to be a web browser.&nbsp;
For this reason, Chrome password safety will never be on par with what a dedicated password manager can offer.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s like the difference between buying a croissant from your local coffee shop and buying a croissant from a patisserie owned by a baker trained in France.&nbsp;
Specialization produces a superior product, whether it&rsquo;s pastries or password managers.&nbsp;
But Chrome&rsquo;s password security issues go deeper.
<h2>Chrome Passwords Are Basic and Fixed&nbsp;</h2>
One of the basic features of Chrome passwords is that it offers to create "strong" passwords, a long series of letters, numbers, and characters that would be nearly impossible for a human to guess offhand.&nbsp;
The problem is that although these passwords look complex, they usually need to be corrected, and you need the option to customize them. You can't make them longer, add more characters, or do anything beyond giving Google permission to submit and save its suggestions.&nbsp;
Regarding password safety, Chrome forces you to take the passenger seat while it drives, all in the name of convenience.&nbsp;
Is the trade-off between control and convenience worth it? The short answer is no.&nbsp;
<h2>Can Google Password Manager Be Hacked?</h2>
We saved the biggest problem with Chrome password safety for last.&nbsp;
When you use Chrome passwords, or any browser-based password manager for that matter, getting access to your accounts is as simple as gaining access to your device.&nbsp;
Anyone who lays hands on your device at the office, the cafe, or the subway (if you accidentally leave your briefcase behind) can access every account you have saved in Chrome passwords.&nbsp;
This leaves you wide open to being hacked.&nbsp;
Most of us sync our Chrome accounts across devices. It&rsquo;s easy to forget which devices have access. Check that <a href="https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3067630?hl=en" style="color: #40d8e3;">here</a>.&nbsp;
A <a href="https://teampassword.com/" style="color: #40d8e3;">dedicated password manager</a> protects you by requiring you to log in with a separate &ldquo;master&rdquo; password. It automatically locks your passwords after a specific amount of time has passed.&nbsp;
<h2>How Does Chrome Create and Store Passwords?</h2>
The convenience of Google Chrome is what hooks most users. It's free and doesn't require installation.&nbsp;
Here&rsquo;s how it works. The first time you enter a password on a new website, Chrome will send a prompt that asks if you want to save it. You can choose &ldquo;Save&rdquo; or &ldquo;Not Now.&rdquo;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/9ap7QrePRexD7BPrPvFs" width="320" height="295" />
For many people, that little pop-up is a welcome sight. They click &ldquo;Save&rdquo; and sigh in relief that they don&rsquo;t have to commit the password to memory or record it somewhere, which can make it vulnerable to loss or theft.&nbsp;
However, the relief they feel is somewhat misplaced.&nbsp;
<h2>Is a Dedicated Password Manager Worth It?&nbsp;</h2>
This is a choice that only you can make. Consider the following scenario if you&rsquo;re unsure about disabling Chrome passwords and switching to a dedicated password manager.&nbsp;
Imagine what would happen if your passwords were compromised. You wake up one day, and without warning, you can no longer access your email (your personal and work accounts), your online banking, your usual online shopping sites, your stored cloud data, or your social media accounts. Everything is locked away and out of your reach.&nbsp;
Or worse, <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/have-i-been-hacked-how-to-know-for-sure" style="color: #40d8e3;">you don&rsquo;t know you&rsquo;ve been hacked</a> until later when you get a huge credit card bill or something else that reveals someone stole your identity.&nbsp;
This would be a life-altering event, wouldn&rsquo;t it? Trying to undo the consequences would be extremely costly in time and money.&nbsp;
A password manager can prevent this kind of upheaval from happening to you. And while password managers aren&rsquo;t free like Google Chrome, they are well worth the investment.&nbsp;
<h2>An Alternative That Doesn&rsquo;t Share Chrome&rsquo;s Password Security Issues</h2>
TeamPassword offers a fast, safe, and easy solution for storing and managing your passwords that doesn&rsquo;t leave you vulnerable to Chrome password security issues. Another plus is that TeamPassword has a Chrome extension that holds all your personal and company login information. And even if someone has access to your device, they cannot get through to your TeamPassword account without knowing your master password and having access to your Google Authenticator.&nbsp;
TeamPassword is an app dedicated to cybersecurity. Passwords aren&rsquo;t just an extra feature; it&rsquo;s all we do.&nbsp;
An additional feature is our <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator" style="color: #40d8e3;">password generator</a> and password strength tester. Our customizable password generator is the way to go if you are stuck trying to create a password. You could also test to see if your current passwords are secure. It&rsquo;ll also give you an estimate of how long it&rsquo;ll take to be hacked.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/U5f1HACnQ02Us7NjHlMT" width="796" height="264" />
Create and customize strong passwords you can use with any browser or device, and access all your passwords whenever and wherever you need them.&nbsp;
With TeamPassword, your passwords are secure, even if your device falls into the wrong hands.&nbsp;
With all that being said, while using the Chrome password manager seems more convenient, it&rsquo;s not the most secure way to hold your passwords.&nbsp;

Are Chrome passwords really safe? Learn about the Chrome password security issues you need to know to protect yourself and your privacy.

Are Chrome passwords really safe? Learn about the Chrome password security issues you need to know to protect ...

Are Chrome Passwords Safe?

Is Google Chrome Password Manager Safe? (Updated for 2023)

<div class="blog-content">
Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, but many people treat them as an afterthought. With access to over&nbsp;<a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">847 million exposed passwords</a>&nbsp;in the public domain, hackers can easily to steal identities, credit card numbers and commit other types of fraud without the need for complex password crackers. If you use the same password for multiple accounts and haven&rsquo;t updated it in years, you could become a victim!
Let&rsquo;s take a look at five steps to ensure that your passwords effectively secure your online accounts.
<h2 id="step-1-create-strong-passwords">Step 1: Create Strong Passwords</h2>
You can probably guess some of the most common passwords that appear in security breaches: &ldquo;123456&rdquo;, &ldquo;password&rdquo;, &ldquo;12345&rdquo;, &ldquo;12345678&rdquo;, and &ldquo;qwerty&rdquo;. Of course, criminals can guess these passwords just as easily and many online accounts are quickly compromised with these simple guesses &mdash; no need for a password cracker.
Most experts advise you to create passwords that:
<ul>
<li>Have a minimum of 12 characters.</li>
<li>Include numbers, symbols, uppercase and lowercase letters.</li>
<li>Aren&rsquo;t dictionary words or combinations of dictionary words.</li>
<li>Don&rsquo;t rely on obvious substitutions, e.g. &ldquo;passw0rd&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
The problem is that passwords like &ldquo;x$tg@8EmW[%9=Af`&rdquo; are impossible for anyone to remember &mdash; at least without a photographic memory.
The good news is that you can generate strong and memorable passwords by combining four or more random words that aren&rsquo;t in any grammatically correct order. These words make sense to humans, but since the password is longer, it takes longer for a computer to guess the phrase than a shorter sequence of random characters.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/vkkTMPIYTAmgtSZSdmOS" />
<hr />
<h2 id="step-2-use-different-passwords">Step 2: Use Different Passwords</h2>
Most people (54%) use five or fewer passwords across their entire online life, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246902" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TeleSign survey</a>. When averaging all 2,000 users in the survey, researchers found that people use only six unique passwords to guard 24 online accounts. A single data breach would give hackers everything they need to get into several different accounts.
You can avoid these security issues by using different passwords for different accounts.
For example, your bank account passwords should be different from your social media account passwords. That way, if a social media service is compromised, hackers couldn&rsquo;t use the same passwords to access your bank accounts.
Of course, the biggest challenge with using different passwords is remembering them all.
Again, password managers make it easy to keep all of these passwords in one place behind a master password. You can then easily use different passwords for different accounts without having to remember them all.
It&rsquo;s also a good idea to use different usernames across these accounts.
If you have the same username, it&rsquo;s even easier for hackers to try logging into many different services to try and gain access. Usernames don&rsquo;t have to be completely random, but they should be difficult to randomly guess.
<h2 id="step-3-regularly-update-passwords">Step 3: Regularly Update Passwords</h2>
TeleSign&rsquo;s survey&nbsp;found that 21% of people use passwords that are over 10 years old and 47% of people use passwords that are at least five years old. These stale passwords are a major security risk that most people fail to appreciate.
The growing number of data breaches means that many of these old passwords have been exposed to hackers.
According to&nbsp;<a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/Passwords" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">HaveIBeenPwned</a>, there have been more than 847 million real word passwords exposed in data breaches, including many that are paired with email addresses.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/03ymKgZrT3maVIpzmp1S" width="979" height="505" />
You can search the database to see if your email address and/or password have been compromised at:&nbsp;<a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">https://haveibeenpwned.com</a>.
It&rsquo;s a good idea to update your passwords on a regular basis, such as quarterly or yearly. For example, you might update your banking password when you do your taxes each year or update your social media passwords at the beginning of each year.
<h2 id="step-4-use-two-factor-authentication">Step 4: Use Two-Factor Authentication</h2>
Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, provides an extra layer of security above and beyond a password. If you&rsquo;re using a service that offers 2FA, it&rsquo;s a good idea to set it up to prevent the vast majority of cybersecurity attacks.
There are several different types of 2FA:
<ul>
<li>Hardware tokens are key fob-like devices that produce a new numeric code every 30 seconds. When accessing your account, you can glance at the device to get the code and enter it. These are common at many workplaces.</li>
<li>Software tokens are similar codes created with apps with Google or Microsoft apps connected to your account. When accessing an account, you open the app to get the code, and then enter the code to access the account.</li>
<li>SMS messages can be used to send a one-time unique passcode after attempting to login. Without access to the user&rsquo;s phone, hackers cannot mimic these unique passcodes, which makes them extra secure.</li>
</ul>
2FA goes a long way in protecting accounts with an extra layer of security, but they&rsquo;re not invulnerable to attack.
For example, a hacker could trick you into providing a 2FA code that they could turn around and use. Or, a hacker may have already compromised your Google or Microsoft accounts. It&rsquo;s important to use a wider&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/10-easy-cybersecurity-strategies-for-small-businesses" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">cybersecurity strategy</a>&nbsp;to prevent these issues from occurring.
<h2 id="step-5-securely-share-passwords">Step 5: Securely Share Passwords</h2>
Many small businesses need to share passwords between employees. While some apps may support many users under a single organization, others only support a single login or may charge extra fees for each additional user. Small businesses that don&rsquo;t want to pay for extra seats or only have a few employees may be tempted to share account access.
Unfortunately, many businesses store these passwords on a shared Google Sheet or spreadsheet with communal access. This approach is very risky because it only takes a single user account to be compromised to expose all of your business&rsquo;s passwords and accounts!
<a href="https://teampassword.com/features" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TeamPassword</a>&nbsp;is designed to make it easy to securely share passwords between team members. Even better, the software works as a password manager to auto-populate passwords where required and easily generate and remember secure passwords for new sign-ups. You can even view logs to see who has accessed certain passwords.
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Sign up for a free 14-day trial to see how it works!</a>
<h2 id="the-bottom-line">The Bottom Line</h2>
Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, but many people treat them as an afterthought. By keeping these tips in mind, you can minimize the odds of becoming a victim of a security breach and save yourself from hours of pain and thousands of dollars of possible losses.
<hr /></div>

Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, so don't treat them as an afterthought. Here are 5 key steps to keep your passwords safe.

Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, but many people treat them as an afterthought. With access ...

5 Steps to Make Secure Passwords

Passwords are the gateway to your online accounts, but many people treat them as an afterthought. With access to over 550 million exposed passwords in the public domain, hackers can easily to steal identities, credit card numbers and commit other types of fraud without the need for complex password crackers. ...

Your Passwords Aren’t Safe Unless You’re Taking These 5 Steps

<h2 id="are-your-employees-helping-to-keep-company-data-protected-and-secure">Are your employees helping to keep company data protected and secure?</h2>
Unfortunately,&nbsp;data breach fatigue&nbsp;has become so common in the past 15 years, that most consumers and employees do not even react to news of a data breach. This means that employees often aren&rsquo;t doing what they could to keep the privacy of their business intact.
With over 80 percent of data breaches arising from password issues, investing in a password manager, like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teampassword.com/features">TeamPassword</a>, can ensure that passwords are protected.
<h2 id="7-signs-you-need-a-password-manager">7 Signs You Need a Password Manager</h2>

If you&rsquo;re trying to figure out whether a password manager is worth the investment (hint: it is!), here are seven signs you definitely do.
<h3 id="1-you-have-poor-password-hygiene">1. You have&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/stop-cybercriminals-in-their-tracks-with-these-5-password-hygiene-tips" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">poor password hygiene</a></h3>
Do you use the same password for every single log-in? Does your password contain personally identifiable information such as your birthday or child&rsquo;s name? Are you frequently told that your password strength is very weak or even so-so?
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/KJGCFoxS3GH2oFFda9dg" alt="" width="563" height="624" />
If you answered yes to any of these questions, your password hygiene could definitely use some freshening up! Most password managers have password generators that will create random, secure and unique passwords for you. With a good password generator, you can say goodbye to weak passwords forever.
<h3 id="2-you-experience-password-fatigue">2. You experience password fatigue</h3>
The average email address has nearly 130 online accounts assigned to it. No one can possibly remember that many passwords and most people are too tired to even attempt it. This cognitive overload is what leads to poor password hygiene in the first place!
If only there was a single location for all of your passwords &mdash; like&nbsp;a password manager.
<h3 id="3-you-waste-time-everyday-actually-typing-out-your-password">3. You waste time everyday actually typing out your password</h3>
In our&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/ponemons-state-of-password-security-recap" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">recap of Ponemon&rsquo;s State of Password Security</a>, we underscored one of their key findings: managing passwords (as employees) is costly. The average respondent spends about 12 minutes per week entering and/or resetting passwords. For organizations with 15,000 employees, this translates to an average cost of $5.2 million per year in lost productivity and still produces significant sums that most&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/cybersecurity-for-small-businesses" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">small businesses</a>&nbsp;can&rsquo;t afford.
Password managers make accessing passwords exceptionally easy using browser extensions other mechanisms that allow you to automatically fill login credentials in just a few clicks.
<h3 id="4-you-are-tired-of-seeing-the-incorrect-invalid-password-notice">4. You are tired of seeing the incorrect/invalid password notice</h3>
No one likes red text or hazard signs. They often signal danger and/or that you&rsquo;ve done something wrong &mdash; two things we would prefer to avoid in life. The pains of forgetting a password,&nbsp;or even worse,&nbsp;resetting your password&nbsp;yet again,&nbsp;is also something we try to avoid.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/7JvxDHxYRRM4gv1UMehU" alt="" width="686" height="371" />
Avoid these frustrating notices by keeping all your secure information in one place.
<h3 id="5-you-have-to-ask-a-coworker-for-a-password">5. You have to ask a coworker for a password</h3>
Are you Slacking a coworker to ask for login credentials and pinning it to the conversation for future reference? Or are you emailing somebody to ask for a shared password? Maybe you&rsquo;re the one being asked and you have to change your passwords every time after you lend them out.
This not only costs you time during your work day, it also slows down your co-worker&rsquo;s productivity. More importantly, this type of sharing (especially over email) puts your business in an extremely vulnerable position when distributing information as sensitive as passwords.
<h3 id="6-there-s-a-shared-company-document-spreadsheet-with-shared-passwords">6. There&rsquo;s a shared company document/spreadsheet with shared passwords</h3>
While this&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/the-risks-of-storing-your-passwords-in-google-sheets" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">scrappy method</a>&nbsp;may have been the most efficient way to centralize your team&rsquo;s passwords in the past, it can leave your company vulnerable. If the shared settings are accidentally misconfigured or someone&rsquo;s individual account is hacked, all of your passwords are in one visible and easily downloadable place for the attacker. Keep in mind that not every employee needs access to the same passwords. These types of files don&rsquo;t lend themselves very well to that level of customization.
That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s important to make sure that your password management solution utilizes&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-manager-with-2fa#:~:text=The%20Concept%20Behind%202FA" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">two-factor authentication</a>&nbsp;and advanced grouping and sharing capabilities.
<h3 id="7-you-save-passwords-in-your-browser">7. You save passwords in your browser</h3>
Everyone is responsible for managing their own saved passwords and can save time logging into their most frequented sites. Another resourceful workaround that seems like a low-cost solution for small teams, right? Unfortunately, no.
<ul>
<li>This only works if you only work on one device. Logging onto a phone or tablet or your personal laptop? You&rsquo;ll be back at sign 4.</li>
<li>If your computer is stolen, the thief will be able to login to any site where you have saved passwords turned on.</li>
<li>Leaving employees to their own devices when it comes to password management often replicates signs 1-6.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="next-steps">Next steps</h2>
Did any of these signs sound familiar? Perhaps even painfully familiar? Dealing with any of these password headaches can be a cost to your company&rsquo;s budget, productivity, and most importantly, security.
<a href="https://www.teampassword.com/">TeamPassword</a>&nbsp;is here to support and relieve you from these types of concerns. A simple, secure password manager, designed from the ground up with ease-of-use and collaboration in mind can protect your company from data breaches and your employees from password fatigue.
Get TeamPassword today!&nbsp;<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Try our free 14-day trial.</a>

Are your employees helping to keep company data protected and secure? Learn the seven reasons you should be using a password manager.

Are your employees helping to keep company data protected and secure? Unfortunately, data breach fatigue has become so ...

Seven Signs You Need a Password Manager

Are your employees helping to keep company data protected and secure? Unfortunately, data breach fatigue has become so common in the past 15 years, that most consumers and employees do not even react to news of a data breach. This means that employees often aren’t doing what they could to keep the privacy of their business intact. With over 80 percent of data breaches arising from password issues, investing in a password manager, like TeamPassword, can ensure that passwords are protected.

Have you been hacked? Learn how to identify, prevent, and report cybercrime using TeamPassword's ultimate guide for victims of cyberattacks.

Sadly, falling victim to cybercrime at work or home seems to be something we've accepted as part of ...

What To Do If You've Been Hacked: A Guide for Victims

Sadly, falling victim to cybercrime at work or home seems to be something we've accepted as part of everyday life. But it doesn't have to be. This guide will teach you how to recognize when a device or account has been hacked, what techniques cybercriminals use, how to identify those attacks, and how to prevent them. If you've fallen victim, this guide will help you understand how and provides resources so you can act quickly to minimize the damage.

What To Do If You've Been Hacked: An In-Depth Guide

I&rsquo;d like to believe that more money and employees mean more security. Facebook has copious quantities of both, but its history of data breaches over the past decade indicates that its resources have not been used to create a secure platform that users can trust.&nbsp;
Though these breaches have violated your privacy, you probably want to keep your account on the platform. Dumping Facebook may not be an option, but you can take steps to protect your personal accounts, even on forums with imperfect security.&nbsp;
<h2>History of Facebook Security Breaches</h2>
Over the last decade, Facebook has been involved in numerous damaging data breaches and scandals. Below is a recap of breaches through 2022, as well as steps you can take to mitigate the impact of future data leaks.&nbsp;
<h2>2005: MIT Proves a Point by Gathering Data on 70,000 Users</h2>
The first known Facebook security violation took place in December 2005 when <a href="https://itmunch.com/facebook-data-breach-timeline-2005-2021/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">researchers at MIT </a>developed a script that could download publicly posted information. In this case, researchers were trying to prove that social media users were vulnerable to leaks because of their over-sharing of information online. This MIT group then gained personal data on over 70,000 users without getting their permission.

Whether we like it or not, any information we post publicly will be harvested and used either maliciously - such as to hack our accounts - or for seemingly innocuous purposes like targeted ads.&nbsp;
<h2>2013: 6 Million Accounts Breached</h2>
In July 2013, a &ldquo;bug&rdquo; in the Facebook platform exposed the personal information of over six million users to unauthorized parties. The bug involved a user&rsquo;s ability to download the contact information from the connections on their Friends list. When doing so, they would download additional details that they weren&rsquo;t authorized to view.&nbsp;
Cybercriminals had exploited this vulnerability since 2012, more than a year before Facebook executives became aware of it and issued a fix. The stolen data included email addresses and phone numbers.
<h2>2014: Cambridge Analytica</h2>
Voter-profiling company <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-trump-campaign.html" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Cambridge Analytica</a> gained access to the private information of 50 million Facebook users without their knowledge or permission. While technically not a breach or unintended vulnerability, Cambridge Analytica was using the data in direct violation of Facebook&rsquo;s policies, providing the Trump campaign with invaluable insights into US voter attitudes and potentially helping to sway the election.&nbsp;
Various news outlets discovered the breadth of this Facebook security breach in 2018. Until then, the company had kept many of the details quiet. A self-proclaimed outside researcher paid Facebook for the information, a practice that was allowed under their rules. However, this party then passed along the data to Cambridge Analytica, who used it to benefit a private client - something that Facebook definitely did not allow. Even after this scam was uncovered, Cambridge Analytica kept much of the information they had fraudulently acquired.&nbsp;
Foreign and domestic government officials and other parties furiously criticized Facebook for this incident, claiming that their security was woefully lacking and that they had almost casually exposed their users&rsquo; information to outside operators.&nbsp;
In response to this criticism, Mark Zuckerberg said that Facebook does not sell user data and pointed to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/152637448140583" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">policy</a> posted on the platform.&nbsp;
<h2>March 2019: 600 Million Passwords Exposed</h2>
In March 2019, cybersecurity expert <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2019/03/facebook-stored-hundreds-of-millions-of-user-passwords-in-plain-text-for-years/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Brian Krebs</a> learned that Facebook was storing upwards of 600 million user passwords in plain text files that were available to more than 2,000 Facebook employees. The employees had been logging and storing these passwords through internally-built applications. The investigation revealed passwords in plain text dating back to 2012.&nbsp;
Facebook worked to resolve the issues, and <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2019/03/keeping-passwords-secure/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">released an official statement</a> which included the following: &ldquo;There is nothing more important to us than protecting people&rsquo;s information, and we will continue making improvements as part of our ongoing security efforts at Facebook.&rdquo;
That sounded promising, but then the rest of 2019 happened.&nbsp;
<h2>April 2019: 540 Million Facebook Records Accessible on a Public Server</h2>
One month later the Cyber Risk team at Upguard <a href="https://www.upguard.com/breaches/facebook-user-data-leak" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">reported</a> over 540 million records sitting on a publicly accessible server which contained detailed data like account names and FB IDs. Upguard had been trying to contact the Mexican company hosting the server since January, but it wasn&rsquo;t until April that they managed to secure the data.
<h2>September 2019: Another 419 Million Facebook User Records on a Public Server</h2>
A public server owned by an unknown group was <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/04/facebook-phone-numbers-exposed/?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9zZWxma2V5Lm9yZy8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEnb3vvda1dAxndgbjNDW3bLW5fvyaNW5LxeWKgBG2ZVywCE10QuFI8BuWkiFboyXz9fAqV8dNH62Iu3OujFfkfGi8W1LAr99qKzOrpthtEvW1gjQZswxF95V9dr5JOF6M5fOMfdWtYJNaYICiBuWUsl2QyAkSPpLTX7j5atsT2S" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">found to have 419 million Facebook Records</a> containing everything from unique Facebook IDs and phone numbers to gender and location. This was a disturbing call-back to the April incident when Facebook announced that they were making changes and knew they had work to do.&nbsp;
To Facebook&rsquo;s chagrin, their 2019 nightmare wasn&rsquo;t over yet.
<h2>December 2019: 300 Million Facebook Accounts on the Dark Web</h2>
Online watchdogs detected one of the most disturbing Facebook breaches in December 2019. Over 267 million Facebook users had their personal data exposed on <a href="https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/12/20/facebook-dark-web-data-breach/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">the dark web</a>, possibly for up to two weeks. The dark web is the home of endless criminal activity, so this breach was egregious. By the time the media reported the breach, Facebook had already made security changes that supposedly fixed this vulnerability. In March 2020, however, another 42 million records were found different server and gathered by the same criminal organization based in Vietnam.&nbsp;
<h2>2021: Half a Billion Accounts Leaked</h2>
Those hoping that 2021 would be smooth sailing were disappointed by a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/05/tech/facebook-data-leaked-how-to-tell/index.html" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">huge Facebook hack </a>over the weekend of April 3. This Facebook lapse <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/3-billion-usernames-and-passwords-dumped-on-the-dark-web-are-you-affected" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">exposed the personal information</a> of approximately half a billion users, including their names, birthdays, locations, and phone numbers.&nbsp;
Facebook acknowledged the leak but said it stemmed from a security problem in 2019 that their team has since fixed. But many Facebook users found that statement to be of little comfort. The information is out there, and the damage could be ongoing. In the US alone, 30 million accounts were affected. Facebook has not made it easy to find out if your account was one of them. According to experts, you have around a 20% chance of being hacked if hackers stole your account information. Check <a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">haveibeenpwned.com</a> to see if you are affected.&nbsp;
<h2>Protecting Your Personal Data on Facebook and Other Online Sites</h2>
Despite its spotty security history, Facebook is still a dominant force in social media. Users have stuck with this forum despite some massive security issues. You should not assume that Facebook will automatically keep your data safe. Be proactive and put your own safety measures in place.
<h2>Limit Security Breaches with Facebook Security Settings</h2>
Experts recommend taking the following steps to enhance your <a href="https://www.komando.com/privacy/facebook-privacy-and-security-settings-to-change/737091/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Facebook security</a>:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Clear Off-Facebook Activity History - Facebook can track your activity online when you are not using their platform and use it to target their advertising. Select settings on the menu and then select Off-Facebook Activity and clear history to stop this process.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Disable Third-Party Tracking - If you have used your Facebook login information to sign in to other applications, they are tracking your activity. To disable this function, select Settings &amp; Privacy from the menu and then select Apps and Websites. Click on Active, and then you can disable tracing from individual apps.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Use Two-Factor Authentication on Facebook (and other sites) - The extra time this step takes is worthwhile. To breach your account, hackers would need a security code that is sent only to your mobile phone. On Facebook, you can activate this feature by clicking on the menu and then choosing Settings &amp; Privacy followed by Security and Login. Then simply choose Two-Factor Authentication and enter your phone number and security code.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Limit Who Can See Your Personal Posts - You should set your personal Facebook account to private. And if you want to share really personal information, you should limit who can see those posts. You can do this by going to Settings &amp; Privacy and then Settings. Choose who can see your future posts. Then click edit. You can also choose to limit who can see your past posts as well.</li>
</ul>
<h2>The Importance of Password Safety to Prevent Security Breaches</h2>
<a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/how-often-should-you-change-your-password-the-importance-of-password-safety" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Password security</a> is still one of the best ways to keep your personal information and account access safe. Security breaches are so damaging because hackers take your stolen password, perhaps from Facebook, and then input it into all of your other accounts, hoping that you reuse passwords.
If you are like many other online users, you do reuse passwords, sometimes simply because it&rsquo;s easier than remembering a dozen or more different passwords. Cybercriminals can turn a Facebook security breach into a bonanza of criminal activity that can harm your finances and your reputation. If you have unique passwords for all of your accounts, then a breach of one will not lead to a breach of others.&nbsp;
<h2>How TeamPassword Can Help Prevent Security Breaches</h2>
Safely managing your work passwords can seem overwhelming, even to the most meticulous company. Fortunately, creating and storing unique passwords are simple with <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=cpc&amp;utm_campaign=brand%20keywords&amp;utm_term=team%20password&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjwsqmEBhDiARIsANV8H3aU6587NrbcJuYiHEZM8wwJAHZ9E3exhta8H2_-BuwIHXvsBZb5JVkaAkO2EALw_wcB">TeamPassword</a>. We provide the latest password safety features, including a free <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">password generator</a> that creates impossible-to-guess passwords that meet the highest security standards.
You can use Teampassword to make sure that your accounts are safe even when social media giants and others leak your passwords. We offer password services that allow you to add, share and <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/how-to-disable-your-browsers-built-in-password-manager">manage</a> your internal and client passwords, including those for websites, social media, blogs, and more. You and your employees will not have to remember dozens of secure passwords - we make that part of the process simple while protecting you from security breaches.
You cannot make every account hack-proof, but you can minimize the damage when a breach occurs.
Keep your personal and business information safe with TeamPassword. Try us now and get your first <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">14 days for free</a>!

Facebook has exposed over 1 billion users' personal information in the last decade. Learn how to protect your company from security breaches.

Facebook has exposed millions of users' personal information over the years. Learn how to protect your company from ...

A History of Security Breaches at Facebook

Facebook has exposed millions of users' personal information over the years. Learn how to protect your company from more security breaches.

Facebook Hacks: a History of Security Breaches at Facebook

One of the long-term effects of the recent pandemic is <a href="https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/article/coronavirus-impact-online-retail/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #40d8e3;">online holiday shopping</a> which increases the likelihood of a cyberattack. With the holiday season quickly approaching, staying safe when shopping online is essential. <a href="https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/02/16/fraud-activity-level/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #40d8e3;">Reports</a> show that online scamming is at an all-time high and there are no signs of a decline.
Let&rsquo;s imagine a few scenarios.
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You get an email from Target saying they are offering gift cards and all you have to do is submit your card information, and boom, a free Target gift card.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You receive a text alerting you about Dillard&rsquo;s online sale that is only available via their link so you can knock out some early Christmas shopping.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">You get a pop-up ad from that one website you use to watch free movies offering free Visa cards.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
You might think, &ldquo;Wow, this is too good to be true!&rdquo; And that&rsquo;s our first rule of thumb: if an offer is too good to be true, it&rsquo;s probably a scam.&nbsp;
Let&rsquo;s look at how scammers use the enthusiasm and good feelings of the holidays to deceive online shoppers.
<h2>Don&rsquo;t Open Unfamiliar Links</h2>
Phishing is a prevalent social engineering technique used by many malicious actors where they send fraudulent messages to trick victims into sending sensitive information like passwords or credit card information. These messages often come in the form of text messages or emails.&nbsp;
Here are a few ways to check if you are a victim of a phishing attack:
<h3>Check the sender&nbsp;</h3>
Circling back to the scenario used in the beginning, if you get an email from a company like Target, you should first check the email's sender. Being a Target shopper, I get tons of emails about sales and deals. I can tell you, Target&rsquo;s official email is targetnews@em.target.com.
Malicious actors create emails similar to official business emails to make it seem legitimate. For example, they might use target@targetnews.com or marketing@targett.com.
Look for spelling or grammatical errors. If you&rsquo;re still not sure whether it&rsquo;s real, do a quick search for it on the web, check the company&rsquo;s website, or reach out the company directly to verify its authenticity.
You can also verify company phone numbers, which aren&rsquo;t as easy to identify as emails. Simply type the number into Google to see whether the number is connected to the company.
<h3>Check the Link</h3>
Most scam sites have spelling errors, and many are ridiculously long. Those are easy giveaways.
<h3>Does the Link Text Match the Site?</h3>
Some cybercriminals may show a different website than what the link will take you to. Hover over the link or copy and paste it into a browser instead of clicking the link. That way, you can see and review the actual link before being brought to it.&nbsp;
<h3>Is the Site Encrypted?</h3>
It&rsquo;s also wise to note if the site is encrypted. To tell whether the site is encrypted or not, look at the search bar where the URL is written.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/RmzRIkTfSCij3bw8khS1" alt="undefined" width="726" height="72" />
Do you notice how the site has the padlock and an &ldquo;HTTPS&rdquo; address? That tells you that the site is encrypted. This means that any data you transmit to the site, be it your login information or credit card number, is protected from third parties. It will stay between you and the operators of the website.&nbsp;
If you encounter a website that isn&rsquo;t encrypted, the connection is not secure, which means the information you transmit could be intercepted by a third party. Find another site to shop from.
Unfortunately, this doesn&rsquo;t guarantee that every site with a padlock and HTTPS address is safe. As <a href="https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/https-does-not-mean-safe/20725/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Kasperksy</a> makes note, &ldquo;... the green lock and the issued certificate say nothing about the site itself. A phishing page can just as readily get a certificate and encrypt all traffic that flows between you and it.&rdquo;
So, while it&rsquo;s important to only shop on encrypted sites, you cannot rely solely on the encryption indicators as a signal of what is safe and what isn&rsquo;t.&nbsp;
<h2>An Example of How to Dissect a Phishing Text</h2>
Let&rsquo;s dissect this text I received and the steps I used to conclude it was fake:
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/PPY8DpLvTo2HZkgRt7x8" alt="undefined" width="418" height="318" />
First: I Googled the number, and no information regarding a company came up. That troubled me.
Second: I noticed that the link looked suspicious.&nbsp;
When receiving a text or email with a link, whether it be a &ldquo;package not delivered&rdquo; or a &ldquo;black Friday sale&rdquo; link, if the URL looks suspicious, it probably is. The URL in the text message above shows no indication of what company I could be receiving a package from.&nbsp;
Third: The text has awful grammar. Think about it, businesses invest heavily in marketing. Are they likely to overlook glaring grammatical errors? Probably not.
Four: Contextualize the message you are receiving. I wasn&rsquo;t expecting a package, so the message was out of place.&nbsp;
Five: Off to the junk folder it went!
<h2>Don&rsquo;t Purchase from Suspicious Sites</h2>
What if you find yourself on a website you&rsquo;ve never heard of before? Maybe they&rsquo;re offering the best deal, or you believe you're supporting a local business. Hold on! You&rsquo;ll want to check a few things before trusting them with your address and credit card.&nbsp;
<h3>Check the Reviews</h3>
Checking reviews is a crucial part of identifying scam websites. Many scam websites will have fake reviews. Often, there will be multiple reviews posted simultaneously with the same keywords.&nbsp;
On the contrary, a legitimate company will have a variety of reviews. <a href="https://www.fakespot.com/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #40d8e3;">FakeSpot</a> is a great tool that uses AI to calculate whether or not a product has fake or legit reviews.&nbsp;
Another trick is to search Reddit for the website to see if anyone has reported a bad experience. Treat these with a grain of salt, however, as a malicious website creator could use various accounts to respond to a Reddit question, making their website seem legit.
<h3>Check Copyright Information&nbsp;</h3>
A legitimate site will have updated copyright and contact information. This is crucial because if the company has no contact details, what do you do if you have an issue with the product? <a href="https://smallbusiness.chron.com/copyright-laws-important-52601.html" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Copyright</a> helps identify the owner of a company or product. Most websites host their copyright information at the bottom of the home page.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/FzgrVkM2TaWNqLylyUTk" width="539" height="47" />
<h2>Use A Password Manager</h2>
If you have online accounts that require logins, you should use a password manager.&nbsp;
A password manager prevents your accounts from getting hacked by safely securing your logins. <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/features" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #40d8e3;">TeamPassword</a> is an easy-to-use password manager for teams. Every user on the account has the option to keep private records, like their personal Amazon account information. Team admins can also create groups to share logins with multiple users, making access to team accounts a breeze.
I've accumulated hundreds of accounts over the years. A password manager allows me to have unique, strong passwords for each account while eliminating the impossible task of remembering those unique passwords that may only get used once or twice a year.
<h2>Creating Unique Strong Passwords</h2>
Creating a strong password is simple, especially with a <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password generator</a>. But remembering those passwords is another thing. While using the same password for multiple accounts is tempting, it&rsquo;s important not to. If a malicious actor were to get access to one account, gaining access to the rest would be much easier.&nbsp;
If password generators aren&rsquo;t your thing, try using a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-build-a-passphrase" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank" style="color: #40d8e3;">passphrase</a> instead. Simply put, a passphrase is similar to a password but uses more characters from memorable items for increased security. Here are a few examples of what passphrases can look like.&nbsp;
It could be random: A11ig@torsWithRed$weaters
Or it could be of one of your interests: R3*dingCl*ssicLit3r*ture_
They pretty much look like censored curse words. But, since I built these phrases myself, I'll be able to remember them quickly. And just like that, I now have two 25-character passwords!
<h1>In Conclusion</h1>
The bottom line is that scammers aren&rsquo;t going anywhere. It&rsquo;s up to us to follow protocols that will keep us safe online. Take the time to check that those good deals are legit, use a password manager, and only click on links from expected, verified emails and messages.
If we can all follow these simple cybersecurity practices, we can all shop with a little more peace of mind come Cyber Monday.&nbsp;

Follow these simple cybersecurity tips to shop with a little more peace of mind this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Follow these simple cybersecurity tips to shop with a little more peace of mind this Black Friday and ...

How to Avoid Black Friday and Cyber Monday Scams

Learn what to do if you forgot your Facebook password and how to use TeamPassword to make sure you never forget a password again.

Learn what to do if you forgot your Facebook password and how to use TeamPassword to make sure ...

What To Do If You Forgot Your Old Facebook Login

What To Do If You Forgot Your Old Facebook Login | TeamPassword

So you think hackers have stolen your password? You're not the only one. 
Perhaps you've noticed strange activity on your email account or frequent pop-ups on your computer. Perhaps it's just a hunch. 
But how can you know&nbsp;for sure?
There are many warning signs that you've been the victim of a data hack:
<ul>
<li>Your device is slower than normal.</li>
<li>You use more data than normal.</li>
<li>Videos take longer to load.</li>
<li>You received an email notification about a password change you didn't make.</li>
<li>An online account no longer accepts your password.</li>
</ul>
However, hackers can steal your passwords and identity&nbsp;without you ever knowing. That's why it's so difficult to tell if you're the victim of a hack.
This guide will help you work out if hackers have stolen your information and tell you how to stop it from happening again.&nbsp;
Prevent hackers from stealing your data by incorporating TeamPassword into your tech stack. This password manager for teams comes with a range of security features like two-step verification and password encryption.&nbsp;<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up for a free trial</a>&nbsp;today.&nbsp;

<h2>Have I Been Hacked? How Do I Know?</h2>
There are various ways to tell whether hackers have access to your information:
<ul>
<li>Look for unusual activity on your account. This activity includes logins to your social media accounts from unfamiliar locations or mass messages sent from your email account.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Look for security emails from account providers that warn about failed login attempts or password changes you didn't make.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Look for changes in performance on the devices, apps, and websites you use. For example, see if videos take longer to buffer than normal.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Look at your browser's password manager (if you use one) and check that nobody has changed these credentials.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
All the above can be a guessing game. You might have a feeling that you're the victim of a hack but don't know for sure. 
Checking a stolen password list like "Have I Been Pwned" clears up some of the confusion. This tool searches across multiple data breaches &mdash; when hackers take stolen passwords and usernames and post them online &mdash; to see if cybercriminals have compromised your personal information. 
Here's how to use this stolen password list:
<ol>
<li>Enter your email address on the main page.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Click "pwned."</li>
<li>The website will search thousands of databases to see if hackers have stolen your personal information.</li>
<li>If you receive the "Oh no &ndash; Pwned!" message, it means hackers have posted sensitive information associated with your email address (passwords, addresses, phone numbers, etc.) somewhere online.</li>
<li>If you receive the "Good news &ndash; no pwnage found!" message, it means the website could not find your information on the internet.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
Note: Just because the website can't find your data on the internet, it doesn't mean hackers haven't compromised your personal information.
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-manager-for-small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Password Manager for Small Businesses</a>

<h2>Which Passwords Did Hackers Steal?</h2>
Establish which passwords hackers stole in a data breach so you can take quick action. Websites like "Have I Been Pwned"&nbsp;won't&nbsp;tell you which passwords are at risk. You'll only learn whether hackers have compromised the data associated with a particular email address. 
Note: Sometimes, hackers might have access to your email address and other personal information but not your password. It's hard to know for sure.&nbsp;
If hackers have access to your data, it's a good idea to change&nbsp;all passwords&nbsp;associated with the compromised email address. If you use your email address for several online accounts, change the passwords for these services. Updating these passwords might take you a while, and remembering the new passwords leads to additional problems. (Keep reading to find a solution.)
Here are some other tips:
<ul>
<li>When choosing new passwords, use combinations of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Passwords that use all these elements are stronger than those that don't.</li>
<li>Don't write your passwords down because this increases the risk of identity theft.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Don't tell anyone your new passwords.</li>
</ul>
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/the-most-secure-way-to-share-passwords" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Most Secure Way to Share Passwords</a>.

<h2>How Common Is a Data Hack?</h2>
More common than you think. Hackers were responsible for more than 4,000 attacks every day in 2020, and the total number of compromised records exceeded 37 billion. That's a 141% increase from 2019. Much of this compromised data appears on the dark web, where cybercriminals use it to facilitate illegal activities such as identity theft and money laundering.&nbsp;
If you have been the subject of a data hack, you are not alone. However, it's important to act quickly to prevent hackers from accessing your personal or financial accounts.&nbsp;
There are other types of cybercrime to consider. Cybercriminals use techniques like phishing, where they impersonate people online and trick victims into handing over their personal information. Phishing now accounts for more than 80% of all cybersecurity incidents, and criminals steal $17,700 every minute in these attacks.&nbsp;

<h2>What Kind of Information Do Hackers Steal?</h2>
Hackers steal all kinds of personal and financial information:
<ul>
<li>Names</li>
<li>Email addresses</li>
<li>Usernames</li>
<li>Passwords</li>
<li>Addresses</li>
<li>Phone numbers</li>
<li>Bank account details</li>
<li>Credit card numbers</li>
<li>Social Security numbers</li>
<li>Insurance information&nbsp;</li>
<li>IRS information</li>
<li>Photos</li>
<li>Private message</li>
<li>SMS messages</li>
</ul>
Nothing is off-limits for hackers, and these criminals go to great lengths to steal your data. Once they have access to the information above, hackers can transfer money from your bank accounts, use your identity to apply for financing, and damage your credit file.&nbsp;
Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/the-scariest-data-breaches-of-all-time" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Scariest Data Breaches of All Time</a>.
TeamPassword is the best password manager for teams. Features include two-step verification, password encryption, easy password sharing, and more.&nbsp;<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get a free trial now</a>&nbsp;and learn how TeamPassword keeps you safe online.&nbsp;

<h2>Have I Been Hacked? How to Stay Safe.</h2>
There are several ways to improve online security and prevent hackers from accessing your personal information:
<ul>
<li>Use the latest security software and apps when using devices and browsing the internet.</li>
<li>Carry out regular risk assessments where you evaluate your security software.</li>
<li>Back up personal data to a reputable cloud service instead of keeping it on your device.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Don't share personal information with other people.</li>
<li>Create a security management strategy for your organization and share it with all team members.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Using a password manager is another way to stay safe online. The best ones encrypt your online passwords so hackers can't access these credentials, and you can keep passwords in a secure cloud-based vault and not have to remember them. There are various password managers online, including free ones available through most internet browsers, but not all tools are the same.&nbsp;
If you work alongside a team, consider TeamPassword. It's the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teampassword.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">password manager for teams</a>&nbsp;that require world-class security and performance. This all-in-one password solution helps teams like yours store, manage, and share passwords in the safest way possible.&nbsp;

<h2>How Can TeamPassword Help?</h2>
TeamPassword prevents hackers from stealing your organization's most sensitive data with an incredible range of password management features. Enterprises of all sizes use TeamPassword to manage passwords, including tech startups, digital marketing agencies, creative agencies, and software and development teams.
Here are some&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/features" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TeamPassword features</a>&nbsp;that prevent situations involving a stolen password:
<ul>
<li>Random password generation that creates unique passwords for websites.</li>
<li>Two-step password verification.</li>
<li>Activity and logging tools so you can discover who has access to password management features.</li>
<li>Secure encryption technology.</li>
<li>Email notifications about password management actions.</li>
<li>Passwords stored securely in one place. </li>
</ul>
<h2>Final Word</h2>
If you're looking for the answer to the question, "Have I been hacked?" it's difficult to know for sure. Preventing hackers from compromising your data in the first place provides a better resolution. TeamPassword lets you store and manage passwords in a secure environment and minimize the effects of a stolen password so you can avoid hackers stealing your data and continue to collaborate on team projects.&nbsp;
With features like password encryption, two-step authentication, and random password generation, TeamPassword is the best password management solution for teams that want to improve online security.&nbsp;<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sign up for a free trial</a>&nbsp;now.

Have I been hacked? Here's how to check if you have and learn how to stop hackers from stealing your data. | TeamPassword Blog

Have I been hacked? Here's how to check if you have and learn how to stop hackers from ...

Have I Been Hacked? How to Know for Sure.

Password encryption is essential to store user credentials stored in a database securely. Without password encryption, anyone accessing a user database on a company's servers (including hackers) could easily view any stored passwords.
Even a strong 32-character password created using a <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">secure password generator</a> is useless without password-encryption! If someone can read your password on a server, they can use it simply by copy/pasting it&mdash;no matter how long or complicated the password might be!
Encryption scrambles your password before saving it on the server. So, if someone hacks the server, instead of finding password123, they find a random series of letters and numbers.
In this article, we're going to explore the world of password encryption, why <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/tips-and-tricks-to-create-a-strong-password">strong passwords matter</a>, and how you can practice better password management!
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">TeamPassword</a> is the password management solution for small businesses! Create, store, and share login credentials safely with employees, contractors, and clients. <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today!
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#understandingpasswordencryption" rel="follow">Understanding Password Encryption</a></li>
<li><a href="#howdoespasswordencryptionwork" rel="follow">How Does Password Encryption Work?</a></li>
<li><a href="#5commonpasswordencryptionmethods" rel="follow">5 Common Password Encryption Methods</a></li>
<li><a href="#whystrongpasswordsmatter" rel="follow">Why Strong Passwords Matter</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="understandingpasswordencryption">Understanding Password Encryption</h2>
To explain password encryption effectively, we must first grasp the language. Several terms might be unfamiliar, so here is a quick intro to password encryption terminology.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Key: Used to lock and unlock passwords using a random string of bits. You get private and public keys that crypt and decrypt data differently, but we won't get too deep in the weeds with keys!</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Bits: A logical state with one of two possible values, including 1/0, true/false, yes/no, or on/off as typical examples.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Block (block cipher): A deterministic algorithm operating on fixed-length groups of bits, called blocks.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hash function: The algorithm that uses the key to create password encryption and decryption. A hash function is essentially a piece of code that runs every time someone saves a password or logs into an application.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hash: A random series of numbers and letters representing your password. The hash function uses your hash instead of the raw password for authentication.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt: Additional letters and numbers appended to the hash</li>
</ul>
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2 id="howdoespasswordencryptionwork">How Does Password Encryption Work?</h2>
When you save a new password, a hash function creates a hash version and saves that on the server.&nbsp;
Every time you log in using your password, the hash function recreates the hash to see if it matches what's stored. If the hashes match, the algorithm passes the authentication and logs you in.&nbsp;
For example:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Original password: Pa$$w0rd123</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hashed password: 6AF1CE202340​FE71BDB914AD5357​E33A6982A63B</li>
</ul>
While this might seem secure, simple hashed passwords aren't hack-proof.
The hash function only creates a unique hash for each password, not each user. So, if multiple users have the password, Pa$$w0rd123, the hash will be exactly the same.
To overcome this encryption vulnerability, engineers salt passwords so each hash is unique, even if the passwords are identical.
<h3>How Salt Works</h3>
A salt appends a unique value of 8 bytes (16 characters) to the password before the hash function creates a hash. This way, even identical passwords are unique before the hash function.
For example:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Two identical passwords: Pa$$w0rd123</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt value one: E1F53135E559C253</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt value two: 84B03D034B409D4E</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password one before hash: Pa$$w0rd123E1F53135E559C253</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password two before hash: Pa$$w0rd12384B03D034B409D4E</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password one hashed value (SHA256): 72AE25495A7981​C40622D49F9A52E4F15​65C90F048F59027BD9​C8C8900D5C3D8</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password two hashed value (SHA256): B4B6603ABC670​967E99C7E7F1389E40​CD16E78AD38EB1468E​C2AA1E62B8BED3A</li>
</ul>
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<h2 id="5commonpasswordencryptionmethods">5 Common Password Encryption Methods</h2>
<h3>1. Data Encryption Standard (DES)</h3>
While applications no longer use Data Encryption Standard (DES), it's important to mention this password encryption method because of its history and influence on more secure modern standards.
IBM developed DES as a 56-bit encryption technology in the early 1970s. The NSA adopted and improved DES before it was approved worldwide as the encryption standard.
However, since the late 70s, hackers have been able to break DES encrypted passwords. In 1999, ethical hackers managed to break a DES key in under 24 hours.&nbsp;
To make DES more secure, engineers created Triple DES and later Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which we still use today.
<h3>2. Triple DES</h3>
Triple DES uses three 56-bit keys (blocks) to create 168-bit encryption (some security experts argue that Triple DES is only 112 bits strong). Although Triple-DES is slowly being phased out, many financial institutions still use it to encrypt ATM PINs.
<h3>3. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)</h3>
AES is the new encryption standard&mdash;trusted by the United States Government and many other prominent organizations globally. At 128 bits, AES is sufficiently secure, but most organizations prefer heavy-duty 256-bit encryption.
At <a href="https://teampassword.com/security">TeamPassword</a>, we use 256-bit encryption to store passwords, ensuring the highest levels of security for our clients. We're also a <a href="https://teampassword.com/security">secure hosting provider</a> holding multiple security accreditations.
Hackers can only break an AES encrypted password through a brute-force attack&mdash;trying password combinations to find the right one.
To counter brute-force attacks, applications will lock an account after a certain number of attempts or use tools like Google's reCAPTURE.
<h3>4. Blowfish</h3>
American cryptographer, Bruce Schneier, designed Blowfish in 1993 as an antidote to the weak DES encryption. Blowfish uses a 64-bit block and variable key length of 32 to 448 bits.
Although Blowfish is more robust than its DES predecessor, the 64-bit block is still vulnerable to attacks, most commonly birthday attacks&mdash;a cryptographic attack that exploits the mathematics behind the algorithm.
To solve Blowfish vulnerabilities, engineers created Twofish in 1998 (128-bit blocks with 256-bit keys) and Threefish in 2008 (256, 516, 1024-bit blocks with 256, 516, 1024-bit keys).
<h3>5. Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)</h3>
RSA is one of the oldest and widely used to transfer data securely. The encryption works with two keys, two large prime numbers, and an additional auxiliary value.
Due to the complicated encrypting and decrypting process, there is no known method for breaking RSA encryption.&nbsp;
Although widely used for transferring data, RSA is slow and not suitable for password encryption.
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<h2 id="whystrongpasswordsmatter">Why Strong Passwords Matter</h2>
Password encryption can only prevent criminals from viewing saved credentials stored on a server&mdash;but cannot prevent hackers from guessing weak/commonly used passwords. If you <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/colonial-pipeline-ransomware-attack-dont-reuse-passwords">reuse the same password for multiple accounts</a>, this also puts you at risk!
Encryption is most effective when users create robust, unique passwords for every account. For example, a random 32-character password with letters, numbers, and special characters hashed and salted is near impossible to guess or decode, even using a computer!
In another scenario, let's assume you have a strong 32-character password, but you use it for every account. If hackers manage to steal that password, they have access to every account using the same credentials! Your strong password is effectively useless.
<h3>Improving Your Password Management</h3>
Now that you understand password encryption and the associated vulnerabilities, you can see why strong passwords are essential.
Effective password management is crucial to protect yourself against cyberattacks or in the highly likely event of a data breach where hackers steal your credentials.
Criminals are after the low-hanging fruit&mdash;people who use weak passwords!
5 tips for creating stronger passwords:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Create strong passwords for every account. The easiest way to do this is using a password generator. <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">TeamPassword has a free password generator</a> anyone can use to create passwords from 12-32 characters using uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. We recommend creating passwords as long as the application will allow.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never create passwords shorter than eight characters, with 12 being our recommended minimum.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never reuse the same password for multiple accounts.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never create passwords with your name, family member's names, or pet's names. With social media, this information is freely available. Criminals can add those names to algorithms for brute-force attacks.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Don't store passwords in digital notepads or spreadsheets. We recommend using a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password manager like TeamPassword</a> to create and store your credentials.</li>
</ol>
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<h2>Why You Need a Password Manager like TeamPassword</h2>
We have so many accounts these days; it's almost impossible to create unique, memorable, secure passwords for each one. A password manager solves this problem.
Instead of remembering the credentials for every account, you only need to memorize the one to log into your password manager.&nbsp;
TeamPassword keeps all of your credentials safely stored and encrypted, so you never have to memorize a password again. Instead of entering your credentials, you use one of TeamPassword's browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, and Safari) to log into accounts.
<h3>Built for Teams</h3>
TeamPassword's best feature is its ability to share credentials with team members securely. Instead of sharing passwords, you provide access through TeamPassword.&nbsp;
Employees <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">use TeamPassword</a> to log in, meaning you never share raw passwords&mdash;no more worrying about unauthorized access or sharing.
You can create groups in TeamPassword to share access with employees, clients, contractors, and freelancers. When someone no longer needs access, remove them from the group with a single click. No need to change passwords every time someone leaves a project!
<h3>Built-In Password Generator</h3>
TeamPassword features a built-in secure password manager so you can create robust passwords for every account. TeamPassword also ensures you never reuse the same credentials so that you won't fall victim to credential stuffing attacks!
With a built-in password generator, you can change passwords regularly, and TeamPassword will update the new credentials for all users!
<h3>Monitor Login Activity</h3>
TeamPassword's activity log keeps track of every action across all of your accounts&mdash;logins, password changes, new team members, sharing access, and more.
You can also set up email notifications for all TeamPassword actions so that you can react fast to any suspicious activity.
<h3>Get Your Free TeamPassword Trial</h3>
Password encryption is not enough to protect your business from password vulnerabilities! You need a robust password manager like TeamPassword to create, store, and share credentials securely.
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<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> and let TeamPassword secure your company's digital assets.

Password encryption is the number one component of password security. TeamPassword encrypts passwords with state-of-the-art technology to keep passwords safe.

Password encryption is the number one component of password security. TeamPassword encrypts passwords with state-of-the-art technology to keep ...

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