A while ago I received an email from Adobe.com, that stated that my email and password had been compromised. In fact probably many of you have read this story as it was on CNN MSNBC and other news outlets.
As instructed, I went to Adobe.com and changed my password for the email I received. But thanks to my good friend Julius Clark, an IT professional, I learned of a new website called HaveIBeenPwned.com. On this website, all you need to do is put in your email address and it will tell you whether not you have been compromised on several of the larger sites that have been reported in the news.
While I knew I had been compromised with one of my email addresses on Adobe.com, I did not realize I had several account over the years. This meant I had a few addresses compromised. YIKES!!!!
Thanks to this website I was able to make those changes. And I think you should take a chance and see if you have been compromised anywhere in cyberspace. Here's what you want do.
1. Check and see if your email has been compromised by going to this site.
2. If you have been compromised, now is a good time to go and change your password.
3. Use a highly encrypted password at a minimum 12- 25 digits long. This password should contain symbols capitalization and numerals.
4. I suggest using a password safe such as last pass or one secure, to save all your passwords and make them highly encrypted.
5. Get identity theft protection. In my case Adobe is offering this for free because of the breach. But I believe in some cases you will be able to get this at an inexpensive price.
Well, I usually use different passwords and a different email address that separates my financial institutions bill payment centers from my other online activities. In this case, I see that some of my social networking email addresses have been used and have been compromised. So I have to change those just a feel safe.
As you can see, working on the Internet can be a "dangerous" place, but in most cases it is a great place to be, you just have to be careful.
So what do you do to protect yourself while on cyberspace. I'd love to hear about it. Please leave a comment below.