How to check if you have been compromised by a security breach

As long as people store information online or in “the cloud” there will be people out there looking to compromise your account and gain unauthorized access to that data, including usernames, passwords, emails, credit card information, and more. Clearly the answer isn’t to not store your data online–that would be impractical because of the fact it’s nearly impossible not to store some kind of data online these days. The solution is twofold, one companies need to build security into their products and services from the beginning, not as an afterthought and two, you need to be smart about your data.

So what can you do to be smart about your data? For starters, use a password manager such as 1Password to create unique passwords for each site you register on. Another important thing you should do is be aware of security breaches that occur and for that I have a great site I recommend using called Have I Been Pwned?

The site is completely safe and was created to help alert people about security breaches that have affected them. All you need to do is type in your email address or username into the text field and hit enter, the site will then search your email/username against any known security breaches and inform you whether or not your account data may have been compromised.

Keep this site handy so whenever a new security breach is made public you can be sure to check your email/username to see if your data has been compromised.