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02/06/2019

A New Google Chrome Extension Will Detect Your Unsafe Passwords

Password Checkup is meant as an easy way to take back some control

Data breaches that compromise people's usernames and passwords have become so common, and used in crime for so long, that millions of stolen credential pairs have actually become practically worthless to criminals, circulating online for free. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the more current credentials sold on the black market. All of this means that it's increasingly difficult to keep track of which of your passwords you need to change. So Google has devised a Chrome extension to watch your back.

On Tuesday, the company is announcing "Password Checkup," which runs in Chrome all the time as you go about your daily web browsing, and checks passwords you enter on all sites against a database of known compromised passwords. Password Checkup isn't a password manager, a gauge of how weak or strong your passwords are, or a source of advice. It just sits quietly until it detects a credential pair that is known to be exposed, and then it shows a warning. That's it.

The tool is unobtrusive by design, so you'll actually pay attention to it when it notices genuine risks. If you've been feeling overwhelmed by all the news of data breaches and cyber-crime over the past few years, Password Checkup is meant as an easy way to take back some control.

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.

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