Last week I was bombarded with emails about a new virus called Heartbleed. I always hear of viruses at some point in time but I have never been directly emailed from software companies making me aware of this bug. Heartbleed could knock your goals off track.
What is it?
Heartbleed is a bug that puts users passwords at different websites at risk by accessing the memory of servers. There is a report that as many as 500,000 websites could be affected. A hacker could obtain your password and steal your sensitive data like credit card info.
Things to do.
- Go to this Heartbleed checker to see if any of the websites you use are vulnerable
- I went on here to check my banking, credit card, and investing websites as well as other sites that I might have made a purchase from
- If the site comes back as possibly being vulnerable then email or call the site to see what they are doing to protect your information
- If the site has the bug, WAIT for confirmation from the site’s operator before you change the password
- Updating your password while the site is affected will not do anything as the hacker will have your new password
- Once the site has rid the Heartbleed virus, change your password
- Watch your credit card for any weird purchases
- Check your Credit Report
- I’ve provided steps to obtain your free credit report in another post but it is a great way for you to monitor if your sensitive data has been compromised
In this day in age it is even more important to protect yourself from online threats. Heartbleed is another example of why we need to stay on top of our personal information.
[photo courtesy of renjith krishnan from freedigitalphotos.net]