Even though we live in a time when there is lots of information available on how to keep your system protected from data breaches, lots of people still fall prey to password leaks. What’s more, they then continue to use the compromised passwords for their accounts putting themselves at even more risk.
So, what can you do to keep your system protected from password leaks?
There are some basic password rules to keep to stay on the safe side:
- You should always use different passwords for different accounts. While having only one password to remember may seem convenient, it also puts you at a higher risk of a data breach.
- It’s a good idea to make your passwords complicated: use numbers, symbols (if possible), lower- and upper-case letters and so on.
- Plus, it’s a good idea to regularly change your passwords.
You can also use specialized tools like Google Chrome’s Password Leak Detection feature.
What Is Password Leak Detection in Google Chrome?
Password Leak Detection is a relatively new feature for Google Chrome. At first, it was introduced as an official extension but later on the feature became part of the browser’s password manager.
Is Password Leak Detection effective?
You might ask this question:
“So, should I use Password Leak Detection in Chrome for Windows 10?”
The new feature has been designed to help users avoid using compromised passwords — even if they are unaware of the leak. When you enable Password Leak Detection, Chrome will start
checking if the passwords that you are using to log into websites have been part of data breaches that Google can identify.
So, yes—Password Leak Detection is quite effective in keeping your passwords protected, especially if you are not in the habit of coming up with complicated passwords and changing them often.
How to use Password Leak Detection in Chrome?
In order to enable Password Leak Detection in Chrome you need to do the following:
- Launch the Google Chrome browser.
- In the address bar, type chrome://flags and press Enter. Alternatively, type “chrome://flags/#password-leak-detection” (no quotes) directly into your browser address bar.
- On the “flags” page, run a search for “Password Leak Detection”.
- Next, change the Default option to Enabled.
- Once you’ve made the switch, restart the Google Chrome Browser: press the Relaunch button to activate the Leak Detection tool.
Note that in order to enable the feature on your Chrome browser, you will need to ensure that you are using Chrome 78 or higher. How do you check which version of the browser you are running? Simply click the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner of your browser, click Help and select About Google Chrome. Your browser will automatically check if it’s using the latest version and alert you if an update is needed.
Once you’ve gone through the steps above, your browser will start detecting data breaches and will instantly let you know if your login information has been compromised.
We hope this post has been helpful and you now know how to use Chrome’s Password Leak Detection and have one extra tool in your kit for keeping your system safe from breaches.
Have you tried using Chrome’s Password Leak Detection feature? Share in the comments below.
Naturally, in addition to Chrome’s new tool, it’s important to have a reliable anti-virus program onboard — like Auslogics Anti-Malware. Once installed, the software will run automatic scans of your entire system locating even the rarest malicious items and will then safely remove them from your PC before they manage to cause any trouble on your computer. What makes the program different from other anti-virus software is that it allows for a flexible scheduling of automatic scans, catches the malware items your primary anti-virus might miss, is super easy to set up and has a simple user-friendly interface and more. Plus, Auslogics Anti-Malware is designed to run alongside your primary anti-virus without compatibility issues — should you want to keep both programs. In the program, you will have the choice of running a Quick Scan (only key areas on your PC will be scanned), Deep Scan (your entire system will be scanned) and Custom Scan (where you will be able to select specific folders and files to be analyzed).
