The Heartbleed Bug - Don't Ignore It!

04/12/2014

This isn't directly related to education, but since it impacts so much of our online activities, I thought I'd post a few resources to help you deal with the Heartbleed bug.

There have been lots of scares about viruses, and many of us are skeptical when we hear of the latest crises... (remember the Y2K fizzle?) but this one is different. This isn't about carelessly downloading a virus that a good anti-virus program would probably detect - it's about a significant vulnerability within a basic internet security protocol that opened many online interactions to theft of information being passed - credit card numbers, accounts info, passwords.

Check sites for the bug:

The general advice is to change all your passwords. But before you go crazy, check out these resources first:

The Heartbleed List: An organized listing of sites that were or were not affected by the vulnerability.
Heartbleed Test: Enter a URL and see if the vulnerability is present on the site.

Articles on the Heartbeat bug:

Experts Find a Door Ajar in an Internet Security Method Thought Safe: Nicole Perlroth. New York Times
Q. and A. on Heartbleed: A Flaw Missed by the Masses. Brian Chen. New York Times
Password Tips: Discover Tech

Take the time to check the sites you visit and start changing your passwords. Start with the most important ones (banking, social network sites) and work your way from there. Ones that don't involve transferring important information can be low on your list.

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