Our Internet-ruled lifestyle comes with its set of pros & cons. Though pros outnumber cons any given day, the latter manifested with intrusions like data breach, hacking can compromise your Online safety & control. However, it is difficult to pin at which point in your daily Online regime can your data be tracked or stolen. To help users combat this, Mozilla has introduced Firefox Monitor, it announced on its blog. A free service that alerts people when there is a data breach, Firefox Monitor has been launched in partnership with the Internet security Site Have I Been Pwned by Troy Hunt.
The feature was tested this summer & relying on the results & positive attention it garnered, the company decided to go ahead with the launch. The blog offers a walkthrough video to understand what it is all about.
In case your data has been breached, this is how Firefox Monitor will help you:
- To confirm if your email has been tracked, you need to visit monitor.firefox.com
Here, you key-in your email id. Your email address will then be scanned against a database operating as a library of data breaches, this will be done with the help of ‘Have I Been Pwned’. Firefox Monitor will notify you if your email address or personal info was compromised. If it has been breached, it suggests that you change your password & other places where you may have used the same password. - Get informed about data breach: To get notified about data leaks, you can sign up for Firefox Monitor using your email address. The service will alert you about the same as soon as it learns about them. After scanning your email id against those breaches, it’ll notify you through a private email, if your were involved.
It asserts that all the while your email id is being used for scanning, its privacy is closely protected.
The Firefox Monitor Website also guides users on how keeping strong passwords work as a shield in protecting their data.
- Every account must have a different password
- Passwords must be strong, random; the longer the better
- Security questions are extra passwords
- Employ a password manager
- 2-factor authentication makes it stronger
- Alerts by Firefox Monitor can help you keep your account safe
A few days ago, Mozilla had announced that it would release a set of features to support its latest move in the war against tracking. This, it announced, was to support users & “give them a voice”.
In the offing, the blog stated, are more features to “arm & protect people’s rights Online”.
Image Credit: Mozilla
