Seriously, Change That Old Password. That’s an Order!

Ever heard the saying “you can’t teach an old dog a new password?”

No? You probably won’t have heard of it because I just formed it.

Anyway, old dogs really need to learn new passwords and here is why.

You remember that in August of 2013, Yahoo revealed that it had suffered a major breach and that all users were affected (including you, if you had a Yahoo account in 2013)? Well, the hack exposed user account information, which includes name, email address, hashed passwords, birthdays, phone numbers, and, in some cases, “encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers,” the company said back in 2016. Yahoo did confirm that passwords were not stolen in clear text, and hackers did not obtain bank or credit card information tied to the Yahoo accounts.

That means a hacker can take an email address and a password pair and run it against all the popular sites on the internet. Facebook. Google. Ebay. Amazon. PayPal.

Did you use an old password when you created an account on any of those sites? Did you think that hackers won’t target you? News flash: Malicious hackers, except in some very specific cases, don’t care who you are. They’re not targeting you, personally. They have scripts that go through millions of usernames and passwords, and try them against hundreds of sites. If an old password works, boom: They got something of value.

Bottom line is, if you had a Yahoo account in 2013 (or 2012, or ever), and you’re still using that old password, you’re putting yourself at serious risk. You could lose personal data, your reputation, or even your money.

I do believe I just saved your life. You’re welcome!