Net rumors today continue to suggest that the massive hacks we reported on yesterday may also have affected social networking sites like Renren (NYSE:RENN). Renren hasn’t confirmed that it was hacked, but in speaking to the Dongfang Daily, Renren reps did suggest it was possible that hackers had fished Renren user data out of the CDSN database that was hacked.
Some users are reporting they’ve received official messages suggesting they change their passwords. As of 1 P.M. Beijing time on Friday, I have received no such notification on my own personal Renren account, but it seems prudent to suggest that any Renren users change their passwords anyway, as well as changing the passwords for any other site that used Renren login credentials or used the same password as on Renren.
We know it’s a pain to use different passwords for every site, but hacks like this pose a serious threat to the safety of your personal information. They’re also big business — the CDSN hack reportedly could net the hackers millions in data sales — so they’re not going anywhere. Get a password manager if you don’t have one, and use a safe password. Try this site to see how well you’re doing (but keep in mind it doesn’t matter how safe your password is if someone hacks the database it’s stored in). It’s also best to change passwords frequently on any accounts you can’t afford to lose information from or control of. It’s a pain, sure, but the alternative is worse.
[Dongfang Daily via Sina Tech]