Google's new Chrome Extension Detects Stolen Passwords

Google is offering a Chrome's extension that will help you secure your account. Password and Data breaches are unfortunately frequent. This service can help you protect your account from such malicious attacks. It is available at Chrome Web Store.

The extension called, Password Checkup, checks any login details you use and matches it against a database of around four billion usernames and passwords, warns you if it finds a match and prompts you to change the password for that account. Kurt Thomas, a research scientist at Google, says about the software:

Google's own database of collected credentials from public breaches contains over 4 billion usernames and passwords. The company has used that database for the last five years to protect Google users who could be affected by third-party breaches. More than 110 million accounts were kept safe through this measure.

Password Checkup was built with "privacy in mind." Google says that it has no way of seeing your data, the checkup and warning generated is entirely local to your device. The credentials are hashed and encrypted before they are sent to Google.