We all know that it’s not a great idea to use an easy-to-guess password such as “123456,” although plenty of people do that. Instead, we’re often told to use complicated strings of words, numbers, and special characters to protect our online personas, as they were thought to be more difficult to guess — and sometimes to remember. Now, though, the man who kicked off the involved password era says maybe he wasn’t right after all. [More]
passwords
Man Who Suggested Complicated, Always Changing Passwords Now Has Regrets
By 8.8.17 — Updated: 8.9.17
Apple Says Systems Not Breached After Hackers Threaten To Wipe Millions Of iPhones
By 3.23.17
Earlier this week, a group of hackers claimed to have email addresses and passwords for hundreds of millions of Apple accounts, and that it would use this information to remotely erase massive numbers of iPhones if a ransom weren’t paid. For its part, Apple says no account information was stolen from its servers. [More]
Reminder: If Your Password Is “123456,” Change It
By 1.16.17
While one might think that there cannot possibly still be anyone out there who would use incredibly easy-to-guess passwords like, for example, “123456,” one would be wrong: according to a new study, that’s still the most popular password in the world. Sigh. [More]
Dropbox Breach Affected Logins For 68 Million Accounts
By 8.31.16
Last week, Dropbox asked longtime users to update their login credentials after learning that their information may have been compromised nearly four years earlier. At the time, the file-sharing site didn’t say just how many users were affected by this breach, but a new report shows that more than 68 million accounts were involved.
[More]
United Airlines Updates Login Protections With Pre-Selected Security Question Answers
By 8.25.16
Earlier this year a man was accused of hacking United Airlines in order to steal travel vouchers from some frequents fliers. In an attempt to better protect loyal customers’ vouchers, mileage points, and other information, the carrier recently unveiled a slew of updates to its website, including employing a security question section with pre-selected answers. Wait, what? [More]
Twitter Resets Passwords Related To Possible Breach
By 6.10.16
Following reports that the passwords for nearly 33 million Twitter accounts were breached and put up for sale on the dark Web, the social media network has notified potentially affected users and reset their passwords. [More]
Over 427M Hacked Myspace Passwords Set Loose Online
By 5.27.16
Okay, okay, we know what you’re thinking: “Myspace?” you scoff, “It’s 2016! I haven’t had a Myspace account since I was a kid! My gosh, what’s next, CompuServe?” [More]
Microsoft Protects You From Yourself, Outright Bans Worst Passwords
By 5.27.16
The point of a password is to keep your accounts secure. A bad password, though, doesn’t do that very well. And despite decades’ worth of repeated warnings not to use the same terrible passwords, millions of people still regularly do, even when a system tries to require better ones. So Microsoft, in the name of customer protection, has finally had enough and is just going to start banning the really crappy ones altogether. [More]
Remember That LinkedIn Breach Back In 2012? It May Have Been Bigger
By 5.18.16
Hey, do you remember back in 2012 when hackers hit LinkedIn, stole a few million passwords, and released them online? It was a while ago, so don’t feel bad if you don’t. LinkedIn simply can’t leave the breach behind, though: there are now another 117 million e-mail addresses and passwords for sale on an underground marketplace. [More]
Twitter Fixes “Password Recovery Bug” That May Have Exposed Information Tied To 10,000 Accounts
By 2.18.16
Twitter says it has fixed a problem with its password recovery system that recently made vulnerable the emails and phone numbers associated with thousands of Twitter accounts. [More]
If Your Password Is On This List, It’s Time To Change It
By 1.19.16 — Updated: 1.16.17
We get it. Maybe you revived your childhood obsession with Star Wars. But don’t extend that fandom to your password, or you could end up welcoming in… the dark side. And by that, we mean anyone who happens to look at the list of 2015’s Worst Passwords. [More]
Time Warner Cable Warns 320,000 Customers Their Email & Passwords May Have Been Breached
By 1.7.16
Hundreds of thousands of Time Warner Cable customers received alerts this week telling them to change their email passwords after law enforcement officials notified TWC that hackers may have gotten their hands on this sensitive information.
[More]
Report: Amazon Resets Some Users’ Passwords Over Concerns They May Have Been Compromised
By 11.24.15
If you found Amazon has force-reset your account password, you aren’t alone: according to a new report, many customers have reported that the e-commerce giant emailed them saying their password had been changed, citing security concerns that the information may be exposed to outsiders. [More]
Comcast Resets Passwords For 200,000 Email Customers After Possible Account Leak
By 11.9.15
Comcast email customers became the latest victims of a potential hack attack this weekend, as the company confirmed it reset passwords for nearly 200,000 users after their email addresses and passwords were posted for sale on a hacker marketplace. [More]
Hackers Swipe 225,000 Jailbroken iPhone Users’ Account Information
By 9.2.15
Jailbreaking your Apple device, or using illicitly obtained software to customize it in ways that Apple never intended and install unauthorized apps, is something that most users thought was against the rules but innocent, even if it does void your Apple warranty. Now Apple is facing a good news/bad news situation: a hack involving jailbroken iPhones validates their policies, but also means that the phrase “iPhone hack” is all over the news. [More]
The Pros & Cons Of Windows 10 Sharing Your WiFi Passwords With Your Contacts
By 7.29.15
All around the world today, Windows users are updating their operating systems to Windows 10, better known as Microsoft’s attempt to atone for the sins of Windows 8. However, the newest version of Windows has a feature that is either — depending on who you speak to — a huge privacy concern, or maybe not that big a deal. [More]
Forget Fingerprints, Amazon Working On Ear-Unlock Feature For Phones
By 6.15.15
Could answering your phone in the future be as simple as pressing it to your ear? It could be if Amazon’s latest patent ever makes it to the real world. [More]
If Your iCloud Password Is ‘Password1,’ Choose Something Else Right Now
By 1.2.15
If you use Apple’s iCloud service, you know that Apple has some limits on what your password can be, which are meant to make your account harder to break into. The password must have at least one letter, at least one number, at least one capital letter, and have at least 8 characters. However, it’s still possible to come up with a terrible password within these parameters. [More]
