Not too long ago we shared a handy infographic which was designed to help us figure out if we should consider changing our passwords due to the Heartbleed SSL vulnerability. It detailed several online account types which were vulnerable, but it couldn't actually tell us if we were already a victim of the exploit. Luckily, there are some folks out there who are just as smart as the hackers who might try to exploit the bug.
These savvy security gurus have created a couple of web-site tools which can reportedly detect if your accounts have been compromised. They are remarkably simple to use too. You just have to head to the web-sites and enter in an email address which you have linked to any accounts you are worried about. In seconds the tool responds and shares which, if any, of your accounts have been compromised so you know which ones you should change the passwords for immediately.
The first is called haveibeenpwned.com. It will let you know if you have been "pwned" by the bad guys (for non-gamers, pwned is urban techno-speak for "owned" or "defeated"), so you can get your passwords changed.
The second one is called shouldichangemypassword.com. This one preforms a similar function and handles the process the same way. The main reason it is likely worth doing both is because they might access different data, so it would allow for a more well-round and comprehensive test of your accounts.
Although the bad guys will always be out there, hopefully, in the next five years we won't find another huge internet vulnerability like "Heartbleed." It's great to see there are folks trying to stem the tide of the Heartbleed.
I change my passwords every month or so...
