There is a new dangerous bug threatening systems everywhere called Heartbleed. This bug could be the most dangerous bug in Internet history.
I say that because Heartbleed is so technical and complicated. That’s because unlike other bugs, there’s not very much you can do to protect yourself. The burden of combating and preventing Heartbleed is on the web service, not the web service user. Then there’s encryption, a system used to keep online chatter private. Like if you’re paying for something online, encryption is what keeps other people from looking at the credit card numbers you’re using for payment. One of the most popular ways of keeping encryption secure is using free tools like Open SSL. SSL runs on 2/3 of the Web. But what if there’s a flaw in Open SSL, which is on the majority of the web? That’s what makes it so dangerous. What’s even worse is the flaw and bug is hardly detectable until it’s too late.
But there is some good news: there is something you can do. It’s suggested you change passwords for your following accounts: Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pintrest, Google, Yahoo, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Amazon Web Services, Go Daddy, Intuit (Turbo Tax), Dropbox, Minecraft, OK Cupid, Sound Cloud, Wunderlist. I’m not here to sensationalize anything. I’m not saying these organizations have been hit by Heartbleed. I have accounts with many of these great organizations, and I haven’t seen anything unusual or alarming yet. So don’t panic about it, but after learning about the potential severity of Heartbleed, I do think we need to heed these suggestions. I know I am. Are you?