Ebay Accounts Stolen

Ebay was hacked and a database with 146 million accounts was stolen. If you have an eBay account change your password now, even if you rarely use it.

The incident actually happened 2 weeks ago but eBay kept quiet about it while they investigated. They’ve now announced that confidential account data was stolen including passwords and addresses. The passwords are hashed, meaning it’ll take hackers some time to decode them. In the meantime you need to change your password.

Password tips:

  • Don’t use the same password you use on other sites. If hackers steal a password (like they did with eBay) then they can try using the same password on other sites like your email or Facebook, the chances of getting it right are pretty good.
  • Use a password manager such as LastPass or KeePass
  • Don’t use a common password such as Password1

Free Xbox Points hoax

There have been messages appearing on Facebook saying that Microsoft is giving away 4000 Xbox points. It’s fake (a hoax). Firstly, they’re not really called “Xbox Points”, the correct term is “Microsoft Points”, so this is an obvious scam. Secondly, Microsoft has had to step in and make it clear that it’s a hoax (link here)

Below is a screenshot of the hoax,

points

As always, be wary of any free offers. And very ware of things you read on Facebook, a lot of it is false. Always copy and paste things into Google and do a search, you’ll quickly be able to tell if something is true or a hoax.