1 billion Internet passwords stolen: How to protect yourself

1 billion Internet passwords stolen: How to protect yourself -

A gang of Russian hackers have collected more than 1 billion online passwords and names of user and 500 million e-mail addresses, according to the New York Times. Keep safety, security firm that discovered the hack, said personal information was stolen from more than 400,000 websites, making it one of the largest online hacks in history. What does this mean for us? It is time to make some identity theft prevention measures. Here's what you can do to protect your identity:

3 ways to protect your identity

Although no financial information was stolen, hackers can use user names and passwords to access your financial statements if you use the same username and password for these sites. In addition, they can use it to get more personal information about you and use it to open financial accounts in your name. If you fear your information may have been stolen, here are three easy steps to take to protect your identity.

1. Change your password: Since we do not yet know which sites were hacked, people need to change their passwords on all websites as soon as possible to protect your accounts from being accessed by the attackers. Changing your password ensures that your account remains secure.

2. Check your credit card and bank balances: Go online and check your credit card and banking. Check back in the next two months. If you see any suspicious activity, report it immediately to your bank or credit card lender. Monitoring the activity of your financial accounts is the best way to catch the beginning of identity theft.

3. Consider signing for identity theft protection: identity theft protection services are a good solution to this specific hack because they can help protect your personal information that has been exposed in the cyberattack. These services monitor the use of your information, such as name and date of birth on the black market of the Internet and public records to verify it is not sold, traded or used by identity thieves.

In addition to monitoring the detailed identity above, most of the protection services against identity theft also monitor the activity of all three of your credit reports and alert you any changes or additions to the reports. All these services cost less than $ 25 / month to protect you, and - best of all -. Most protection services against identity theft come with some kind of free trial that allows you to test the service before making financial commitments

Visit our identity theft protection reviews to find the best service for your needs or read our blog of protection against identity theft to learn ways to protect your identity in all aspects of your life.