Mass password breaches are all too common these days, which is why Google is trying to fix the problem with a new tool.
Last year was a scandal with the massive Marriott and Facebook data breaches. It's likely that at some point in the past few years, one of your passwords has been taken by hackers and is in an illegal database.
Therefore, the tech company is introducing Password Checkup, an extension for the Google Chrome browser. The company says that Password Checkup takes care of password protection “beyond Google apps and sites.”.
It works like this: If Google detects that a username and password on a site you use is one of the 4 billion credentials Google knows have been compromised, the extension will warn you and suggest you change your password.
Installation is simple. First, install the Password Checkup extension in your Chromeby going to the extension's installation page. You will then see a green Password Checkup icon, usually in the upper right corner of the browser.
Once the extension is installed, you will start receiving automatic notifications if a password has been compromised.
To check manually, go to a password-protected website, then click the green Password Checkup icon, and if your password hasn't been compromised on the site, you'll see this message: "None of your recently used passwords were detected in the compromised database.".
Google has also added what it calls Cross Account Protection, for when an attacker gains access to your Google Account.
This applies to apps and sites where you log in with Google Sign In, an extremely common method of signing in to various apps and sites using your Google username and password.
To these sites and apps, Google is able to send information about security issues so that these apps and sites can protect you.
If someone signs into an app or website with their Gmail address and password and their account is compromised, Google will ensure that their privacy is protected through this process. If something happens, Google will notify the app or website.
And the same privacy protection applies to Password Checkup, so no one, including Google, can learn your account details.
"To do this, we developed privacy-preserving techniques with the help of encryption researchers from both Google and Stanford University," Google said.
