Salute to Spouses Blog

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Don't worry about the tech talk: just change your password

I am not the most tech savvy person. But what I learned about the 'Heartbleed' security flaw that scorched the internet this week terrified even me.

If you didn't hear, there was a major, online security breech that basically put the majority of the information on the internet up for grabs for cybercriminals who knew how to access it.

Tech talk aside, to break it down Barney-style: there was a bug in the technology that changes the passwords and personal information that you type into a website into code so it cannot be read by outsiders who try to break into the site. Nearly two-thirds of websites use this program to keep information hidden from criminals.

But, the virtual lock wasn't as tight as everyone thought. The problem has been present for two years, but not everyone knew about it. Now that it has been announced in public, websites are in a race against criminals to lock their information back up before the site can be compromised.

Large banks and retailers such as Amazon have slammed the door shut. But, it's not enough.

The way the bug works, if a user has accessed the site in the last week or so, and the door was open, the information may have toppled out, and still be out there. Meaning, their password and private information may already be in the hot little hands of the bad guy.

The fix: change your passwords. All of them.

Pain the tail, I know.

This website claims to be able to tell you if a corporation has snapped their doors shut and fixed the bug: http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/

Even if your website comes up clean, change your password.

I say again to military spouses whose husbands handle all the computer stuff around the house, change your passwords. 

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