Longtime favorite password manager 1Password just teamed up with Pwned Passwords, a new service that helps you find out if your passwords have been leaked online. The database boasts more than 500 million passwords collected from various breaches.
Here’s how to use it.
With hugely popular services like Yahoo, eBay, Equifax and PlayStation Network all suffering message data breaches, there’s a good chance at least one of your passwords has been leaked online. If you’re smart, you will have already changed it. But did you forget?
Password managers like 1Password and Dashlane, the official password manager of Cult of Mac, make it easier than ever to keep tabs on this scary situation.
Find out with 1Password
1Password’s new feature works like this. Simply sign into your account on the web and enter the “magic keyboard sequence” (Shift-Control-Option-C) to unlock the proof of concept. Then find the login you wish to check and click the Check Password button.
1Password will attempt to find it in the Pwned Passwords databases and will let you know the result. Here’s what the process looks like:
The Check Password feature is available to everyone with a 1Password membership. It’s only available at 1Password.com for now, but it is coming to the 1Password apps for desktop and mobile.
1Password insists the feature is secure; Pwned Passwords will never actually receive your password when you perform a search. If you’d like to know more about how it all works behind the scenes, check out the explainer on the 1Password blog.
Dashlane password manager offers a similar feature
Dashlane, which we reviewed last week, also boasts this type of feature. Its excellent Security Dashboard clearly shows if one of your passwords has been compromised. It also reveals just how secure your passwords are in general, telling you if any are weak, old or reused.
The 1Password apps are free to download on Mac and iOS. A membership starts at just $2.99 a month, billed annually.
Dashlane is completely free to use on one device. A yearly membership, which lets you sync passwords and other secure data on as many devices as you need, costs $39.99.
