Facebook stored passwords in plain text for hundreds of millions of users

TwitterFacebook

Hundreds of millions of Facebook users’ passwords were stored in plain text, completely searchable by Facebook employees for years.

Some users had their passwords stored in plain text as early as 2012, according to a senior Facebook source who spoke to KrebsOnSecurity. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, says that somewhere between 200 million and 600 million Facebook users were affected. More than 20,000 Facebook employees would have had access to these plain text passwords.

Shortly after KrebsOnSecurity published its story, Facebook posted its own statement by its vice president of engineering, security and privacy, Pedro Canahuati. He states that the company first discovered the issue during “a routine security review in January.”  Read more…

More about Facebook, Instagram, Cybersecurity, Passwords, and Password Security

View More Facebook stored passwords in plain text for hundreds of millions of users

Secure your data with this password manager that’s on sale

TwitterFacebook

If you’re still using the same password you used in college, then you don’t have the right to mock babyboomers for not understanding technology. In this age of ransomware and leakage, there’s no excuse for playing it fast and loose with your precious data. And though you can find any number of password managers online, RoboForm Everywhere is among the top — and it’s currently on sale.

After receiving an A+ from the Better Business Bureau and getting the 2017 TopTenReviews Excellence Award, it’s hard to keep describing how great this program is, but we’ll try. It automatically remembers different passwords for every site you use, and logs you in with a single click, while creating a random strong and unique password for each site. Read more…

More about Password, Password Manager, Password Security, Mashable Shopping, and Shopping Stackcommerce

View More Secure your data with this password manager that’s on sale

Stop trying to remember passwords and use this app that will auto-fill them all instead

TwitterFacebook

Heads up: All products featured here are selected by Mashable’s commerce team and meet our rigorous standards for awesomeness. If you buy something, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.

Creating a strong password requires a complex combo of letters, numbers, and special characters. Oh, and you should be able to remember it.

Of course, that’s the hard part. Most of us have lost hours of our lives pounding the keyboard trying password after password, before giving in and clicking “forgot password.” At which point you get the “new password cannot be the same as old password and also needs to include a hieroglyphic now.” It’s a tough world out there. Read more…

More about Password, Online Security, Password Manager, Password Security, and Mashable Shopping

View More Stop trying to remember passwords and use this app that will auto-fill them all instead

‘Starwars,’ ‘football,’ and 23 more horrific passwords people actually used in 2017

2017 was a year of fake news, security breaches, bitcoin, net neutrality, Elon Musk, and more. 
And with all the new news came a slew of horrible passwords. Security software company SplashData has compiled a list of the most commonly used passw…

View More ‘Starwars,’ ‘football,’ and 23 more horrific passwords people actually used in 2017