Okay, so using the word 'bomb' is probably going to set off all sorts of search engine red flags, but regardless, there's little more dangerous online than re-using passwords between websites. Why, you ask? Why, I'm glad you asked! Because at some point one of the websites you're on is going to get hacked, and when it does, the villains will steal as many details about as many users as they can, including email addresses and passwords. And they will then try to use those details to get into your account on other common sites, such as Facebook, or worse, sites handling money like Paypal. But possibly not immediately. It could be years before an attack is made, due to the way that people buy and sell information like this on the dark web (a subject for another article).
This has happened to me, so it can and will happen to you. I had a password which was no longer used with any other websites, though it was in the past. Unfortunately the one site it was still used with was Paypal. I caught the transactions in time, but it was purely by chance that I managed to not lose any funds. Just because you no longer use a given password with other websites, doesn't mean those websites weren't hacked in the past, when you were using it there. Hence reused passwords are not just a threat across websites, but across time as well. How to get around this? Well for goodness sake just use different passwords on different sites. There's no other solution. Sorry.
And keep your passwords written down. If you get hacked, most likely they'll try and change the password as well, and if you can't remember your previous one, you're kinda stuffed, in most cases. Some people recommend against having passwords written down for fear that burglars will steal them. For starters, burglars aren't that bright, or they wouldn't be burglars. They'd be accountants, or something other profession where you steal money from people legally, like a politician. The chances of a burglar riffling through your belongings in the hope of finding a notebook full of online passwords is zero, unless you've got it stapled to the fridge with a bright fluoro green label saying "Passwords! Keep Out!" on it. And at that point it's kind of Darwinian really.
A good tool to find password reuse is available in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Both have a page where you can see the passwords the browser has recorded for you, and a check-up page where it will tell you which are reused, which have been involved in known website hacks, and which are weak passwords. So go to it! Or get someone like myself or a friend to help you do it; a couple of hours of your time spent changing passwords and writing them down, might same you thousands of dollars, or some reputation, later on.
- written by Matt Bentley