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5M Gmail Addresses, Passwords Leaked

 & Chloe Albanesius Executive Editor, News

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Another day, another plea for you to change your password.

As IDG noted, a file was posted on a bitcoin security forum that claimed to include almost 5 million Gmail addresses and passwords.

It appears, however, that much of the data is old or most of the passwords don't actually match with the Gmail accounts on the list. Mashable suggested that data was likely gathered via various data breaches and includes emails and passwords for websites or third-party services rather than Gmail itself.

For example, you might use your Gmail email to log in to Amazon, but you (hopefully) do not use the same password for Gmail and Amazon. If the hackers breached Amazon, they'd have the email-password combo you used for Amazon, but not Gmail.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson told IDG that the company has not detected a breach of its systems.

But if you're the type to use the same passwords across the Web (for shame!) or never change your passwords, this serves as yet another reminder that the strategy is a bad one.

There is a website where you can type in your Gmail address to see if your email is on the list, but at this point, the English version appears to be offline (only the Russian one is live). And it's probably best not to type your email address into a Russian website you don't understand, so maybe just change your password if you're worried.

To help you out on that, check out PCMag's roundup of The Best Password Managers and Two-Factor Authentication: Who Has It and How to Set It Up.

About Our Expert

Chloe Albanesius

Chloe Albanesius

Executive Editor, News

My Experience

I started out covering tech policy in DC for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag's news coverage.

My Areas of Expertise

Getting my start in DC means I still have a soft spot for tech policy; Congressional hearings can sometimes be as entertaining as a Bravo reality show, for better or worse. But PCMag is all about the technology we use every day, as well as keeping an eye out for the trends that will shape the industry in the years ahead (or flop on arrival). I've covered the rise of social media, the iOS vs. Android wars, the cord-cutting revolution that's now left us with hefty streaming bills, and the effort to stuff artificial intelligence into every product you could imagine. This job has taken me to CES in Vegas (one too many times), IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona. I also drove a Tesla 1,000 miles out west as part of our Best Mobile Networks project. Of late, my focus is on our hard-working team of reporters at PCMag, guiding and editing their robust coverage.

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