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LinkedIn, eHarmony password breaches reveal Internet security vulnerabilities

Yesterday's LinkedIn password breach was another hit in a long list of reminders that despite security claims, any information we put on the Internet is vulnerable to hackers.

As the Daily Brew noted, someone on a Russian Web forum claimed to have accessed over six million stolen LinkedIn passwords.

The director of the popular professional networking site urged users to change their passwords and stressed that his company takes the security of its members "very seriously."

And while pirated changes to your work history may be inconvenient (identity theft concerns notwithstanding), imagine how vulnerable eHarmony users must be feeling today with news that their personal dating profile passwords have also been hacked and leaked online.

CTV News reports that the popular dating site admitted a "small fraction" of its 20-million user passwords had been compromised.

Although they didn't specify a number, a technology news site put the figure around 1.5 million.

Single, career-oriented Ontarians who like to update their vehicle registration the convenient way must really be feeling the pinch then, after ServiceOntario revealed its 300 kiosks — computer terminals where you can renew everything from health cards to drivers licences — have been pulled while authorities investigate several security violations.

With all the measures taken to protect individual information on the Web, and all the guarantees that our credit card numbers and medical histories will be guarded under the most advanced encryption techniques, this week's multiple security breaches remind us that anything can be accessed by hackers with enough patience and smarts.

The rise of smartphone dependency doesn't help either. If advanced centralized systems are so easily hacked, there's no reason our cellular devices should avoid a similar pratfall.

Considering how much we use our phones to conduct our business — both personal and commercial — how can you know if your data has been hacked before the damage creates a bureaucratic nightmare?

Many of us take technological safety for granted, and though companies are constantly trying to improve their security, nothing is immune to a breach.

LinkedIn, eHarmony and ServiceOntario have taken responsibility for the problem and have each addressed their line of action.

LinkedIn deactivated compromised accounts and encouraged everyone to change their passwords.

California-based eHarmony said it reset the passwords of the breached profiles and will send email instructions to affected users, while ServiceOntario has closed its kiosks pending investigation.

In the meantime, your odds of getting hacked will decrease if you regularly change your passwords and try to use more "robust" combinations including capital letters, numbers and special characters.

Report any unusual activity in your accounts and don't provide personal details over emails.

It's also a good idea to keep a "clean" email address that you use for forums or social media so if your password gets intercepted, hackers won't have access to your personal correspondence.