Firefox Monitor is a new service from Mozilla that you can use to check if your personal information has been compromised in one of the many data breaches that occur each year. For added security, you can also sign up for the service to allow it to proactively alert you if your data is compromised.
This tool is the result of a partnership with Have I Been Pwned, a site that has been offering this service since its launch in 2013 and which we have already talked about on this blog. The influence of Mozilla and the installation base of Firefox which is present on a large number of computers should considerably broaden its use, even if Firefox Monitor does roughly the same thing as Have I Been Pwned with a real plus: monitoring!
Please note however that it is not mandatory to use Firefox to benefit from Firefox Monitor since it is an online service and also free.
Of course, receiving alerts about a leak of your personal data is one thing, but it is essential to ensure the security of your information in advance. This involves at least using a unique password for each service you use online. This way, if one of them gets hacked, it will not compromise your entire online existence! As they say, prevention is better than cure!
Mozilla isn’t the only web player taking password security issues seriously. A recent update to Chrome integrated a password generator directly into the browser itself to encourage less security-conscious users to break their bad habits of using simple, identical passwords. Similar features can be added to Firefox via extensions like LastPass or 1Password.
That being said, I remain convinced that data protection by passwords is a phenomenon that should tend to disappear in favor of other, much more secure solutions!
