Data breaches, etc and guarding against them

GustyGardenGalaxy

Not really sure where to post this so thought I'd try here first.

Regarding data breaches and online identity theft, there are a number of services which supposedly help to protect against this, from basic services that check if your email address and passwords have been exposed due to online data breaches on assorted sites, then up to more comprehensive services which constantly monitor and report back if any breaches have occurred, whether they are related to banking or general online use.

Are there any services which are particularly recommended which keep an eye on this kind of thing and avoid any banking or other disasters related to online data breaches?

oldernonethewiser

You can do a simple check here as a start

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

born_again

Nothing you can do to protect against data breeches at retailers etc.

oldernonethewiser

born_again said:

Nothing you can do to protect against data breeches at retailers etc.

Indeed. On checking email addresses on the site I linked any breaches have been associated with a company I have used.  It is the third parties who have your details that are, generally, the weak link in the chain as it is they who are tartgeted.

born_again

Interesting that data privacy is mentioned, yet use a site that has no actual Who is details, all redacted.

Wonder how many million email address they have collected 🤷‍♀️🤣

tacpot12

The best protection you can have is to use strong and unique passwords for all websites and online services, and to use Two Factor Authentication if you can. 

I would not rely on an external service, even one I paid for, to alert to a breach affecting one of my account quickly enough for me to do anything about it. 

masonic

Agree with the above. It is also useful to have unique memorable info / secret answers if possible, and separate email address(es) for higher risk accounts, given the low security sites are more likely to be breached. Your email account(s) and mobile network account used for such services should also be locked down as much as possible as these can often be used as part of account recovery - by you or anyone in control of your account.

danco

Strong unique passwords are best looked after by a password manager. I use 1Password but there are plenty others.