How to Know if Your Password Has Been Hacked
One of the greatest things to come out of smartphones and the advancements in technology is that we can always have our social networks, e-mails, cloud storage applications and so on in the palm of our hands, at any given moment. The down side to all this however is that we have so much personal data (including photography, bank details etc) literally hidden behind a password or two.
As with all things, if something is created, someone exists somewhere to break into it. It’s the same for passwords and accounts, hackers exist who will try to hack you, or the business your account is with. Read on below to figure out how to know if you’ve ever been hacked and what you can do to try and prevent it.
Password Strength
You’ve probably grown up with the understanding that a password as simple as, well password1 isn’t quite going to cut it in the real world. We’re told to add numbers, complex words and even special characters when we can (which can make it very hard to remember…although you can read this article to discover how you can store all of your passwords behind one handy, secure app where you’ll never lose them.
The best piece of advice you can have is to genuinely make your passwords difficult. That way, programs that hackers use to determine your password based on different algorithms will be a lot harder. Perhaps even make up a couple of words, slap them together with a special character and a number or two (throw in a capital letter for extra points) and you’re on to a winner.
Find out if you’ve been hacked
If you’ve been hacked then chances are you’ll already know about it. This is because, depending on what account it is, you might receive a notification or e-mail suggesting what has happened. For example, Google will inform you if someone has tried to access your account from a new device.
The other way you might know is if you try to log in, and for whatever reason you just can’t. This is a dead giveaway (providing you are entering the right password of course!) If you aren’t sure but have a hunch, or if you’re just curious as to if you have or not, then you need a website.
Check out Have I been pwned?, type in your e-mail address and the website will give you all the juicy details about whether or not you’ve been hacked before. This will include everything that could possibly happen, from spambots to company breaches and everything in-between.
