Chrome will now warn you if your password's been stolen as soon as you type it in
Unless you're a super conscientious internet user with password managers and two-factor authentication out the wazoo, it's highly likely you're still using a couple of logins that have been compromised in data breaches.
You know you should use unique passwords for everything all the time, you've checked HaveIBeenPwned.com when you read about a major data breach, changed your Gmail or Facebook password when prompted — but ultimately you've kind of accepted a certain amount of regular pwnage as a fact of your digital life.
Now, Google has announced that Chrome will make it a bit easier to clean up your compromised credentials as you find them.
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Within the next few weeks Chrome will roll out a feature that lets you know immediately with a pop-up if you enter a password that's been compromised somewhere, and prompts you to change it everywhere you use it. (Yes, they see you reusing passwords across different sites even though we all know it's data hygiene 101 to never do that.)
While the technology has been available in a number of iterations as a browser extension or as a security check in Chrome's account management tools, this new approach prompts users to deal with the problem immediately, instead of having to take the time and initiative to actively perform checks and maintenance.
Chrome's also adding more real-time phishing protections in a similar vein, with predictive phishing warnings for all users, as well as slightly more prominent user badges in the toolbar to make it clearer whose account you're logged into.
And if you're not already using a password manager (and lying in your recovery questions), the best time to start is right now.
Topics Cybersecurity
Caitlin is Mashable's Australian Editor. She has written for The Guardian, Junkee, and any number of plucky little music and culture publications that were run on the smell of an oily rag and have since been flushed off the Internet like a dead goldfish by their new owners. She also worked at Choice, Australia's consumer advocacy non-profit and magazine, and as such has surprisingly strong opinions about whitegoods. She enjoys big dumb action movies, big clever action movies, cult Canadian comedies set in small towns, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Replacements, smoky mezcal, revenge bedtime procrastination, and being left the hell alone when she's reading.
