You May Want to Reset Your Netflix Password ASAP
According to an email sent out to select subscribers earlier this week, a batch of account emails and passwords matching Netflix user information were reportedly released by an outside entity. Here's the Netflix-issued statement received by a writer at Lost Remote:
As part of our regular security monitoring, we discovered that credentials that match your Netflix email address and password were included in a release of email addresses and passwords from a breach at another company.
Another user passed along this other Netflix update to Thrillist, offering a slight remix of the situation:
We believe that your Netflix account credentials may have been included in a recent release of email addresses and passwords from an older breach at another company. Just to be safe, we've reset your password as a precautionary measure.
Without a user-wide email to verify, or confirmation from Netflix on the subject (Thrillist reached out to the streaming service for clarification, but did not hear back before publication) it's unclear what "breach" and "another company" mean in this situation. Whatever the case may be, the big takeaway is: Change your Netflix password.
There are a few more precautions to take if you're worried about a potential account hack:
- Check your Viewing Activity -- if it appears you marathoned Adam Sandler movies last night, you know something is wrong.
- On the Viewing Activity page, you can click "see recent account access" to see the date and time, IP address and location, and device information of your last login. Where were you last night?
- Stop sharing your password with people; it's a federal crime (technically!) and your goofball buddies will likely give your info away to a third party.
- Check "Have I Been Pwned," a service that can run a query through public records to see if your email was included in any recent hack.
Netflix lists a number of security and password guidelines on its official site. You can change your password on your Account page.
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