Ever wonder if your email and password are available for sale for very few dollars on the dark web? If not, you should check them now to remove them if your email is on the dark web.
We will discuss why and how this email ended up on the dark web, how to remove it, tools to check whether your email is on the dark web, how to stay safe, and steps to protect your identity and crucial information.
What is the dark web?
The term dark web refers to websites that are not indexed by regular search engines and cannot be accessed with your default browser.
The dark web can be accessed only through specialized browsers, such as the Tor browser.
They have a unique style of long domain names that end with an extension of .onion, which cannot be accessed through your regular search engines. The URL can be accessed only through the TOR browser.
What happens on the dark web?
Although the dark web is often associated with illegal activities, it has its own legitimate uses. It is a safe place for journalists and whistleblowers to transfer comprehensive data, such as from a company or a government.
The dark web also caters to other illegal activities, from selling drugs to weapons to pirated software, etc.
It is also home to black hat hackers.
Why and how does the email end up on the dark web?
The emails that are available on the dark web would have ended up in the following ways,
Data breaches: These data breaches happen when you have an account registered, and they store your email, username, and password. These details will be hacked by hackers in a massive data breach and will be sold on the dark web.
Phishing attacks: A phishing attack is when a hacker sends you a link or message to a website that looks exactly the same as the original website. When you enter your email and password, the hacker will get access to your sensitive information.
There are many other ways that your information would have ended up on the dark web.
How to find if your email is on the dark web?
There are many tools to check whether your email is on the dark web. The following are some of the ways you can check.
Have I Been Pwned (haveibeenpwned.com) – This is a free service; you can enter your email ID and check it for breaches, as they have data from massive breaches. It will give you details on which data has been exposed, such as passwords, phone numbers, addresses, and more.
Google’s dark web monitor is available for Google One subscribers. If you are a subscriber, you will receive a notification if your data has been exposed.
NordVPN – Premium users of NordVPN have an option to enable dark web monitoring. You can enable multiple email IDs and check if there is an exposure of your email ID.
Even some of the credit card services provide this information.
Is there a way to remove the data on the dark web?
The truth is, you cannot remove the data from the dark web. Because of its anonymity and its operation outside of law enforcement, you cannot make a complaint against it.
Instead, do the following to safeguard your data immediately.
If you see that your password is compromised in a data breach, hackers will use the password on multiple sites to test whether they can get something with the information.
- So, change the password of every website you know that you have used repeatedly.
- Do not reuse the password.
- Create a strong password with at least 16 characters, and make sure you are not using the old password combo in any of them, as that would make it easy for hackers to guess.
- It is hard to remember every password; use a password manager to store them. There are many free and premium tools for safely storing your passwords.
- Enable 2 Factor Authentication on every website you use. This will send you an OTP on every login, alerting you that someone is trying to log in with the password. Change the password immediately if you receive such a notification.
- Use an authenticator app, which is more secure than 2FA.
How to protect yourself in case of a data breach, and you have been targeted?
If you receive any phishing links via email or any form of message, do not click on the link. Visit only through the official website.
Contact your bank and report the breach immediately.
Phishing links almost look similar to the original website, like say “Paypa1.com is a phishing link, while the original domain will be paypal.com
Are there any paid tools to remove an email address from the dark web?
There are no paid tools to remove the data from the dark web. As most of the dark web is unorganized, no one will ever know the owner of the websites.
Do not pay anyone who says they can remove the data for you.
Safety tips to protect your identity:
- Keep a timeline and change passwords once every 3 months.
- Never use the same password across all websites.
- Use a password generator and use complicated passwords with at least 16 digits.
- Enable 2FA along with the authenticator app.
- Use a reputable VPN (a VPN is needed if you are a regular internet user, as it protects you from IP tracking, dark web monitoring, and phishing attacks).
- Use anti-virus software.
Final thoughts:
The dark web is outside anyone’s control. Always use safety tips, keep an eye on the breaches, and change passwords often.
By engaging in a safety practice, you can reduce the damage. Note that you can only reduce the chances, not fully take control or protect yourself from breaches, as they affect you indirectly.
Never click on any unknown links sent via email, WhatsApp, TikTok, x, or any social media.
Stay vigilant and always suspect the unknown senders.
Your email address on the dark web doesn’t mean your digital footprint is compromised; it just means you need to be extra cautious and follow safety practices.
Start today!