Gmail Password Leak

Reports of millions of Gmail addresses and passwords being leaked have been greatly exaggerated as only 2% of the username and password combinations might have worked, the Google wrote in a blog post. "We found that less than 2% of the username and password combinations might have worked, and our automated anti-hijacking systems would have blocked many of those log in attempts," the company wrote. The post also explained that the "dump" of emails and passwords wasn't from any kind of leak in Gmail itself, but was likely harvested from "other sources" over time - smaller hacked sites, for instance, or mailware on users' own computers. Since many people reuse emails and passwords on other sites, such lists can be used by hackers to gain unauthorized access, it said. "If you might have been affected by the leak, Google should have already alerted you, locking down your account and requiring a password change. But if you've been meaning to change it anyway, there's no time like the present - better safe than sorry," the post added. Details, including passwords, of nearly 5 million Gmail accounts have been leaked at a Russian forum related to Bit coin. The accounts have been posted on the forum in an archived file and can be downloaded by anyone. The archived file is not protected by password and can be opened by anyone. The person who posted the file claimed that nearly 60 per cent leaked passwords were valid and working.