Friday 8 June 2012

Last.fm Recommend Password Change After Leak

Music site Last.fm is recommending that users change their passwords immediately after some passwords have apparently been leaked.  This follows professional social networking site LinkedIn, and eHarmony suffering a similar problem.

While the Last.fm passwords have yet to turn up on any web site, they take privacy very seriously and are recommending immediate action.

Remember when changing your password you need a strong one - ideally containing combinations of lower/upper case letters, numbers and characters.  Use Deadbolt Password Generator to turn your memorable phrases into strong passwords to make them easier to remember.

Strong passwords will keep you safe from hash dictionary attacks which users of LinkedIn were recently left vulnerable for, but as always, never reveal your passwords to anyone, and never write them down.

Wednesday 6 June 2012

LinkedIn Passwords Leaked

LinkedIn users are being advised to change their passwords today after a file has appeared on a Russian web site containing hashed passwords of millions of users.

Whilst the passwords are hashed (a non-reversible process that obscures the password for storage purposes), this can still pose a problem for those of you with commonly used passwords such as 'password' or '1234' etc. Hackers have a dictionary of hashes for common passwords and can match these against any of the exposed details to gain access to your account and to your contacts.

As always, choosing a strong password is essential to stay safe on-line and protect your details.  Use Deadbolt Password Generator to turn memorable phrases into strong passwords that are secured from this kind of attack.

Don't get caught out - act now!