How to check if your LinkedIn or eHarmony password was leaked

By Andrew Couts Published June 7, 2012

How to check if your LinkedIn or eHarmony password was leaked — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Wednesday was a dark day for Website security. Nearly 6.5 million encrypted LinkedIn passwords, and 1.5 million encrypted eHarmony passwords were leaked onto the Internet. That brings the total to about 8 million user passwords that are now potentially compromised.

According to cybersecurity company Sophos, 5.8 million of the 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords had unique encryption codes attached onto the actual password that the user logs in with. Of those, roughly 60 percent — 3.5 million — have already been cracked by hackers, meaning those passwords are now fully exposed, and on the Web forever. We don’t yet have detailed numbers for the 1.5 million leaked eHarmony passwords, but its safe to assume that they too have been cracked at a similar rate.

Recommended Videos

Password protection

So, what now? The best thing to do is to change your password for either of these services immediately. Further, if you used your LinkedIn or eHarmony password on any other website, then you should change those passwords, too. And now would be a good time to stop using the same password for multiple sites. We know, remembering all those passwords is a pain, but having quality, unique passwords for all of your services — especially those linked to your financial accounts — is absolutely necessary to protect your identity and money, and should become one of your basic safety practices, like wearing a seat belt.

To see how to create a quality password, see our complete guide here, or LinkedIn’s tips here.

Check your status

For added protection and peace of mind, you can verify whether your password was among those leaked to the Web using password management firm LastPass’ password checker. They’ve created one for LinkedIn, and one for eHarmony. LastPass will run your password against the database of leaked passwords, and see if they can find a match. It will alert you even if your password has not yet been cracked. If your password does appear in the list, then make the necessary changes mentioned above immediately — you are at risk of identity theft and more.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.