Pwned you ask? Well, if you check the urban dictionary, you will learn that pwned is essentially the corruption of the word owned. Basically, it means to be “owned” or dominated by an opponent or a situation. In the online world, a land we are known to frequent, being pwned means one or more of your online accounts has been hacked, and your email may be victim to a data breach.
Interested in checking if you’ve been pwned? Take a moment to visit this link created by Troy Hunt, a Pluralsight author, Microsoft Developer and security expert who is involved in the HIBP (Have I been pwned?) project. This free service compiles information regarding data breaches and helps users determine if they are a victim of malicious web activity. Simply enter your email address, and if you have been involved in a data breach, a warning message will appear providing details of the hack.
Should you discover your email address has been compromised, it is a logical move to change your login password for your email address and the online service impacted by the breach. Best practice tells us that you should never use the same password across multiple websites. For added security, change your passwords regularly and enable two-tier authentication across your accounts.
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