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Ever wonder how all those solar panel salespeople, cookware vendors, and quick loan offers got your email or phone number? Often it's because your personal data leaked from some seemingly harmless service and ended up on the dark market, where it's sold in batches of thousands.
1. When the milk has spilled: Have I Been Pwned
In IT, "pwned" is slang meaning someone "owned" you in cyberspace. Simply put: your data (email, password) leaked as a result of a database breach. "Have I Been Pwned" (HIBP) is a database maintained by security expert Troy Hunt that acts as your digital detective. You enter your email and HIBP checks if it appears in any known leaked datasets.
How to use HIBP? This is not a toy!
Go to: haveibeenpwned.com
Enter your work (and personal!) email.
A red screen ("Oh no – pwned!") means ALARM. Your data has leaked. Sometimes it's hard to identify the source, but sometimes it's popular sites. In my case, for example, one email leaked in breaches from Canva and Morele.net.
What to do? Take these steps immediately:
Change your password! On the services that leaked, and especially everywhere else where you used the same password and email.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA/MFA). This is your shield. Even if a hacker has your password, they still need a code from your phone or device.
Use a Password Manager. Remembering 50 different complex passwords is a dead end.
2. When you receive a suspicious link:
You've already checked if your data leaked. But how do you protect yourself now, when you receive a suspicious email asking you to click?
URLVoid: Detective with 39 Databases
URLVoid is your control panel.
How does it work?: Imagine you have a new honey supplier. You don't just ask your neighbor, but call the tax office, health inspection, and wholesalers. URLVoid does the same with links! It takes a suspicious address and checks it simultaneously against 39 different antivirus databases and domain blacklists. By checking a link in URLVoid, you get information whether the link is known as malicious, including in databases like CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team).
Google Safe Browsing: Simplest Verification
This is the simplest tool you always have at hand.
How does it work? Paste the suspicious URL into Google Safe Browsing. This is like asking Google if it's seen this address on its blacklist. If Google displays a warning, it means the site is widely blocked and is a real threat to you and your clients.
Don't overpay for IT security
These tools are practical knowledge available for free. You don't need an expensive consultant to implement these basics. HIBP gives you knowledge about the past, while URLVoid and Google Safe Browsing protect you in the present.
