Dropbox Hack affects over 60 Million Users!

Back in July of 2012, Dropbox disclosed that a hacker had accessed its internal systems and received a list of user email accounts. Today, we learn that the list also included passwords.

What this means for you:

If you have changed your password since the 2012 hack, your information should be safe but should verify step 2 below. If you are unsure, please change your password for safety. You will also want to make sure you have changed any other accounts where you used the same e-mail address/password combination.

If you haven’t changed your password since the 2012 hack, you will need to take the necessary steps to ensure that your information is safe.

1. The first thing you will want to do is change your Dropbox password.

To do this: Log into www.dropbox.com. Click on your name in the upper right corner, then click the Settings option. This will open up all of your settings options. Click on the Security tab and select Change password.

Here are a few tips to create a strong password:

• Use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.Try to use both upper- and lower-case.

• Do not use words that can be found in the dictionary.Password cracking tools that are easily available on the internet generally use a list of commonly used names and words to gain access to your information.If you want to use a common word, try to change up the spelling or add numbers or symbols in place of some letters.

• Avoid using letters and/or numbers that are next to each other on the keyboard such as “qwerty” or “yuihjk” or “12345”.

2. Now, you will want to see which devices are connected to your Dropbox account.

When you scroll down on the Security tab, you will see Devices. This shows you which devices have viewed your Dropbox account and tells you where they are located as well as when they accessed it.

It is VERY important to click the X next to any devices that are not yours. Also check the box to delete the files on that device when disconnecting them. This will break the link between your account and the associated device and remove your files from that device. Your device name can be found by right clicking the “Computer” icon on your desktop or start menu, then choosing properties and looking under the name section.

As always, if you have any questions, we at RC Consulting are here to help!