Google has launched a new Chrome extension designed to keep your online accounts secure at all times. Password Checkup does exactly what the name suggests; checking to make sure your username and password combination are secure.

The web can be a scary place. There's malware and phishing emails lying in wait, and hackers seem to be stealing data left, right, and center. Google is doing what it can to keep you safe, and its latest effort is a Chrome extension called Password Checkup.

How to Use Google's Password Checkup

As detailed on the Google Security Blog, Password Checkup checks your username and password against a database of exposed login credentials. Password Checkup checks your passwords against "over 4 billion credentials that Google knows to be unsafe."

All you need to do is install Password Checkup on Google Chrome. Once installed, you'll see the Password Checkup icon in your browser bar. Then, everytime you sign into a site, Google will check your login credentials to see if they are still safe to use.

If your login credentials aren't on the database you'll be free to continue. However, if they match a set in Google's database you'll be alerted to the problem. Google will then suggest you change your password to something else not already exposed.

Google is keen to emphasize how secure this process is. Your login credentials are "strongly hashed and encrypted" when sent to Google. And the company uses "blinding and private information retrieval" to search through its list of logins.

Download: Password Checkup for Google Chrome

Google's Version of Have I Been Pwned

Password Checkup is essentially Google's version of Have I Been Pwned, but in the form of a Chrome extension. And with the monster data leak of January 2019 containing hundreds of millions of logins, this is timely. That is if you trust Google with your data.

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