A great security vulnerability has been discovered and it is now known as the Heartbleed Bug. This is not an ordinary vulnerability which is linked to a specific service or operating system. In fact, this exploit can be detrimental to the users of various operating systems using various different services. Whether you shop online using Amazon web services, blog on Tumblr, or manage your finances online, the clandestine bug can abuse your virtual security. The main objective behind this vulnerability is to expose your login data to parties who know how to use it. Unfortunately, this data could have been leaked already, even if you know nothing about it. If you take no action, it is possible that sooner or later your virtual accounts will be hijacked, and this is extremely dangerous.
How does Heartbleed work?
Heartbleed Bug is based on the vulnerability of the OpenSSL programming error. If the OpenSSL service is not updated in time, the CVE-2014-0160 vulnerability could be used to leak login data. As Anti-Spyware-101.com researchers have discovered, so far Heartbleed has or might have breached the security of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google accounts (incl. Gmail), Etsy, Flickr, SoundCloud, YouTube, etc. Unfortunately, you need to change the passwords of these accounts. Please check if the providers of these services have updated the OpenSSL version before you make the changes. For example, you might have received an email which may look something like this:
A major vulnerability has been disclosed for the technology that powers encryption across the majority of the internet. That includes Tumblr. Our team took immediate action to fix the issue, but you should still take some time to change your password, not only on Tumblr but on any other sites you visit.
The OpenSSL is employed by service providers and users to encrypt traffic on the Internet. This open source service is used to provide identification and login data protection. Needless to say, the discovered vulnerability could be used to steal the protected data and then disclose it to unknown parties. There is still little information about the developer of the Heartbleed bug, and it is also impossible to know who and how will use the disclosed information. All in all, this is extremely dangerous, and you should not ignore this security exploit. Continue reading to learn what you can do about it right now.
How to deal with Heartbleed?
Popular operating system and appliance developers, service providers and other companies using OpenSSL have already fixed the vulnerability by updating the open source service. Unfortunately, this is no enough to ensure that your virtual security is guarded. Virtual security researchers at Anti-Spyware-101.com advise that you pick the most vulnerable virtual accounts and change the used passwords in order to ensure that the potentially leaked ones cannot be used to steal your virtual identity. Unfortunately, you cannot remove Heartbleed yourself; however, authentic security software still should be installed onto the computer in order to ensure that other security vulnerabilities are controlled and fixed in time. Post a comment below if you have more questions.
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