Google introduces new Chrome extension that will warn you of compromised logins

In a time when billions of login credentials are floating around the internet, Google's new Chrome extension aims to help.

Google's new extension (currently only available for Chrome) will alert you if one of your username/password combinations is known to already be 'out in the wild', according to the company's blog post.

The extension called Password Checkup, works in the background whenever enter your login details on a site. It compares the data against a large database with nearly four billion credentials that are known to be compromised over the years. If Password Checkup finds a match a red alert box appears and gives you a suggestion to change your password.

Google worked closely with cryptography experts at Stanford University to ensure that your credentials are not compromised while using Password Checkup. In its security blog, Google highlighted that Password Checkup scrambles all credentials with hashing and encryption as protection. Google also assures users that their login details are never seen by the company itself, either.

Don't have Chrome? There are several other services available for free on the internet that can check to see if your credentials or other personal details have been compromised in a growing number of breaches. Check out Have I Been Pawned, Identity Leak Checker, or Firefox Monitor.