When the Heartbleed bug was first announced on April 7th, most people probably thought it was the name of some terrible 80s-era hair band. In fact, it is one of the greatest security threats in the history of the Internet. Some estimates say nearly 2/3 of all secured websites on the web are affected by Heartbleed. From Facebook to Pinterest, to banks and government websites, Heartbleed has infiltrated many of the most secure places on the web.
What happened?
Essentially, “secure” websites have software that encrypts all the data that is put into it, such as your passwords usernames and other personal information. Basically all websites use the same encryption software. A vulnerability in that software has made every site which uses its software susceptible to Heartbleed. Thus, all the information that users have given those websites is vulnerable as well. We’re talking credit card numbers, addresses, personal information, passwords, Social Security numbers, etc.
In short, you can think of it as if the keys to what keeps your data secure on the Internet have been made available to bad guys.
Most experts don’t believe that this data has been accessed and stolen in any widespread fashion as of yet. However, the potential exists which means websites and users should take immediate action.
Understandably, this raises a lot of questions about what has happened, what we should do, what’s affected, etc. So we sat down with the tech expert Dan Thompson to discuss exactly these things. Watch the short episode of what’s up in Tech and get up to speed on Heartbleed. Then skip down a little bit and we will share some useful links that will help you stay secure.
An Introduction to Heartbleed
What to do?
Wonder if a site you use is sill vulnerable to Heartbleed? Use this tool to determine if that site is safe.
- https://filippo.io/Heartbleed/
This link includes a list of popular sites and whether you should change your password on them.
- http://mashable.com/2014/04/09/heartbleed-bug-websites-affected/
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