As many as half a million websites were impacted by the recent Heartbleed bug, leaving the personal information of Internet users everywhere exposed and vulnerable. So what exactly happened, and do you need to worry next time you log in to your social media accounts?
Well, the Heartbleed bug is a flaw in OpenSSL software, which is used in several major websites including Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and many more. OpenSSL is used to provide a secure line on the web for tasks such as sending an email, making a purchase, or chatting in an instant messenger.
Because the flaw is Internet wide, unfortunately this bug is going to require more than downloading a single update for a piece of software. It is going to require patience in some instances, and changing your password at the appropriate time.
Many of the impacted websites have already taken the steps to patch up their security flaws. If the site has already taken these steps, it is a good idea to go in and change your passwords to limit your exposure. If the website has not yet fixed their own vulnerabilities, changing your passwords will not decrease your exposure to the problem.
While it can be difficult to remember a multitude of passwords, it is a good idea to have different passwords for different websites to limit your vulnerability. If you use the same password on multiple sites, and one of those sites was vulnerable, you’ll need to change your password everywhere to decrease vulnerability.
The good news is that many of the major websites impacted should already be in the process of updating their OpenSSL to decrease vulnerabilities. As time progresses, there should be less of an impact from logging into social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Because it is the sites that were impacted, mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones are still vulnerable to the bug, even if you are using the website’s application.
Because of the widespread nature of this bug it is a good idea to assume that you have been impacted. Most people use more than one of the websites listed in the graphic below from LWG Consulting. This infographic will give you an idea of what passwords need to be changed and what information was exposed.
About the Author: Matthew Brennan is a marketing writer based in the Chicago area. He regularly writes about content marketing, blogging, and engaging with your audience. He has been published on ProBlogger, Soshable, and Business2Community. Connect with Matthew on his website, www.matthewlbrennan.com, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+.