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What the Google Chrome Password Pop-Up Means

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Do you use Google Chrome to log in to Online Banking?

Example of Google Chrome Pop-Up

If you are a Google Chrome user, you might have noticed this pop-up recently. We want to take a minute and briefly explain what is causing this pop-up and what it means for you.

» What is it?
  • During the middle of December, Google added a “Password Checkup” feature into their chrome browser.
  • This feature applies to any usernames and passwords that are saved in Chrome. If you log in to any website and Chrome asks you if you would like to “remember your username and password” and you answer “yes” this feature applies to you.
  • Did you know? You can actually view what passwords you have saved to your Google account by logging in at passwords.google.com.
» What does it do?
  • Anytime a user logs in to any website that it has told Chrome to remember its username and password, Chrome automatically goes out and checks that username and password against Google’s database of known exposed login information. This database, managed by Google, is made up of more than 4 billion usernames and passwords that have been exposed due to third-party breaches.
  • If Google finds a match in its database, the pop-up appears and urges the user to change their password.
» What does it mean?
  • Most importantly, this pop-up is not indicating that Clackamas’ systems or Online Banking have been breached.
  • The pop-up is notifying you that it found the same combination of username and password that you use to log in to Online Banking in Google’s “breached login” database. This could have been from any breach on any website where you might have used the same username and password for that other website and Online Banking.
  • You should definitely change your password for Online Banking. Additionally, if you are using the same username and password for Online Banking that you use on other sites, it is recommended that you use a different password for Online Banking.
      • It is always a good security practice to not use the same password for every login that you have. The reason being, if just any single login were to be exposed, then technically all of your logins would be at risk and you’d want to change your password everywhere.

Want to learn more? Click here and here for two articles from Google that explain the “Password Checkup” feature in more detail.