HOW TO CHECK IF YOU HAVE BEEN HACKED...

The internet – a cause of so many security problems – also provides the solution. Howsecureismypassword.net tells you how quickly your defences can be breached.

I tried one of my own key passwords – and found it would be cracked in one minute. Experts say it’s best to pick three very random words. So I selected three former family pet dog names going back many decades. That worked pretty well – it would take 1,000 years to crack that one according to the website.

Any password connected to personal data available online is highly suspect.

If you can’t remember all of your passwords, don’t repeat them. Use special sites that store and retrieve passwords for you securely.

Another useful site for checking security breaches is haveibeenpwned.com.

This tells you if your email has been exposed to well-known security breaches such as the hacking of major websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

I found one of my email addresses had been breached six times!

And this is just major breaches. Minor ones aren’t included. This email address could also have been found on directories and bought on sold online by criminals for years.