Technologies

5 Ways to Help Lock Down Your Data After PayPal’s Data Breach

PayPal is the latest company to investigate a digital breach. You can’t prevent these incidents, but here are ways to protect yourself online.

PayPal is the latest company to report a data breach, but it’s certainly not the only one. With cyber threat actors targeting big corporations, software companies and even apps on your phone, your personal data could be at risk. If your private information has been compromised, you often won’t learn about it until a company notifies you about a data breach. By that time your birthday, Social Security number, credit card number or health records will have already been exposed or stolen. (Here’s what to do if you think your Social Security number was stolen in the PayPal breach.)

Any stolen information that leads data thieves to your identity can let hackers do everything, from making purchases and opening up credit accounts in your name, to filing for your tax refunds and making medical claims posing as you. Billions of these hacked login credentials are available on the dark web, neatly packaged for hackers to easily download for free.

You can’t stop sites from getting hacked, but after a cyberattack, monitoring tools can alert you to which of your stolen credentials are out on the dark web, giving you a running start at limiting the damage the thieves can do. Here’s how to use two free monitoring tools — Google’s Password Checkup and Mozilla’s Firefox Monitor — to see which of your email addresses and passwords are compromised so you can take action.

Steps you can take before a data breach

First, use a password manager that creates unique passwords for each of your logins and make sure you are following password best practices. That way, if one site gets breached, your stolen password won’t give hackers access to your accounts on other sites. A good password manager can help you administer all your login information, making it easy to create and use unique passwords.

And once you find out a company or service with your credentials has been hacked, change that password, regardless if you are notified that your information was exposed in the data breach or not. You don’t want to wait days to act while the company works to uncover the extent of the hack.

How to use Google’s Password Checkup

As part of its password manager service,Google offers the free Password Checkup tool, which monitors usernames andpasswords you use to sign in to sites outside of Google’s domain andnotifies you if those login credentials have been exposed. (You mayremember Password Checkupwhen it was a Chrome extension you had to add separately to Google’sbrowser. This is the same tool folded into Google’s password manager.)

1. If you use Google’s password service to keep track of your login credentials in Chrome or Android, head to Google’s password manager site and tap Go to Check passwords.

2. Tap Check Passwords and verify it’s you.

3. Enter the password for your Google account.

4. After thinking for a bit, Google will display any issues it’s found, including compromised, reused and weak passwords.

5. Next to each reused or weak password is a Change password button you can tap to pick a more secure one.

How to use Mozilla’s Firefox Monitor

Mozilla’s free Firefox Monitor service helps you track which of your email addresses have been part of known data breaches.

1. To start, head to the Firefox Monitor page.

2. Enter an email address and tap Check for Breaches. If the email was part of a known breach since 2007, Monitor will show you which hack it was part of and what else may have been exposed.

3. Below a breach, tap More about this breach to see what was stolen and what steps Mozilla recommends, such as updating your password.

You can also sign up to have Monitor notify you if your email is involved in a future data breach. Monitor scans your email address against those found data breaches and alerts you if you were involved.

1. Near the bottom of the Firefox Monitor page, tap the Sign up for Alerts button.

2. If you need to, create a Firefox account.

3. Tap Sign in to see a breach summary for your email.

4. At the bottom of the page, you can add additional email addresses to monitor. Mozilla will then send you an email at each address you add with a subject line «Firefox Monitor found your info in these breaches» when it finds that email address involved in a breach, along with instructions about what to do about following the breach.

How else to watch for fraud

Besides using the tools from Mozilla and Google, you can take a few more steps to watch for fraud.

View your digital footprint. Bitdefender provides a dashboard with its Digital Identity Protection subscription that shows where your personal information has appeared online. It also pinpoints data breaches where your info has been leaked in the past, notifies you when your personal info appears in breaches going forward and provides recommended steps to secure your data. It also tells you whether your info is on the dark web and lets you know if someone appears to be impersonating you on social media.

Monitor your credit reports. To help you spot identity theft early, you can request one free credit report a year from each of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — to check for unfamiliar activity, such as a new account you didn’t open. You should also check your credit card and bank statements for unexpected charges and payments. Unexpected charges can be a sign that someone has access to your account.

Sign up for a credit monitoring service. To take a more active hand in watching for fraud, sign up with a credit monitoring service that constantly monitors your credit report on major credit bureaus and alerts when it detects unusual activity. With a monitoring service, you can set fraud alerts that notify you if someone is trying to use your identity to create credit. A credit reporting service like LifeLock can cost $9 to $24 a month — or you could use a free service like the one from Credit Karma that will watch for credit fraud but not ID fraud, such as someone trying to use your Social Security number.

For more on how to keep your data secure, see our guides on how to protect your phone’s privacy, the best VPN services and why you should never trust a free VPN.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, June 28

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 28.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s Saturday, so it’s extra-long, and might take you a while. Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Detachable parts of a dress form
Answer: ARMS

5A clue: Catering container containing caffeine
Answer: TEARUN

8A clue: Climbing structure offered in pet stores
Answer: CATTREE

9A clue: Gets into town
Answer: ARRIVES

10A clue: Frédéric Chopin or Ray Charles, notably
Answer: PIANIST

11A clue: They don’t hold water
Answer: SIEVES

12A clue: ___-jerk reaction
Answer: KNEE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: With some chance of failure
Answer: ATARISK

2D clue: Prepare for a new job, maybe
Answer: RETRAIN

3D clue: Midday Broadway showing
Answer: MATINEE

4D clue: Goal of a noted reality show set on an island
Answer: SURVIVE

6D clue: Witherspoon who portrayed June Carter in «Walk the Line»
Answer: REESE

7D clue: Lodgings for larks
Answer: NESTS

8D clue: Souvenir from a baseball game
Answer: CAP

Technologies

Facing Billions in DMA Fines, Apple Lets EU iPhone Users Install Apps Outside the App Store

A last-minute rule change lets European iPhone owners download apps from rival stores and developer websites, while introducing new fees that Apple hopes will satisfy regulators in Brussels.

In a scramble to sidestep penalties that could soar into the billions, and with Brussels regulators watching closely, Apple has agreed to let Europeans download iPhone apps from outside its own App Store.

With just hours left before an EU compliance deadline, the company said residents of the 27-nation bloc will soon be able to grab apps from rival marketplaces or straight off a developer’s website. The change rolls out later this year with iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6, and also lets users set a different browser engine and choose a third-party wallet at checkout.

For everyday EU iPhone owners, that means the download button could pop up in more places than just Apple’s storefront. After you select the new setting, iOS shows a one-time permission sheet confirming you’re leaving Apple’s marketplace. The app then passes a quick notarization scan meant to weed out malware. Apple notes that off-store downloads work only inside the EU, and disappear if you stay outside the bloc for more than 30 days.

Cost to developers

Developers do gain fresh distribution freedom, but there’s a price tag. A new two-tier Store Services fee asks for 5% of outside sales in exchange for basic services like app reviews and support in what’s called Tier 1, or 13% for the full bundle of perks, including automatic updates and App Store promotions in Tier 2.

Apple will take a 5% «Core Technology Commission» on any purchase made outside its own payment system. That new cut will phase out the current €0.50-per-download fee and become the sole charge across the EU when a unified pricing model arrives on Jan. 1, 2026.

Apple insists «more than 99%» of devs will pay the same or less under the revamped math.

Why now?

In April, the European Commission fined Apple €500 million ($585 million) for blocking developers from steering users to cheaper payment options, and warned that daily penalties of up to 5% of global revenue could follow if it failed to comply.

Throughout the back-and-forth, Apple has accused the commission of «moving the goalposts» on what counts as compliance, with a spokesperson saying the company has invested «hundreds of thousands of hours» to meet the EU’s evolving demands.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney blasted the 5% tier as a «malicious compliance scheme» that «makes a mockery of fair competition.»

If regulators decide Apple still hasn’t gone far enough, the iPhone maker could face steeper sanctions, or even be forced to separate its App Store business.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for June 27, #1469

Here are hints — and the answer — for today’s Wordle No. 1,469 for June 27. Some players need a new starter word now.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle isn’t too tough, but somehow, it has a starting letter I never seem to guess. Some posters on Reddit say it was one of their starter words, so now they’re in the market for a new way to begin the game. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with P.

Wordle hint No. 4: Placement

The two vowels are next to each other.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to something that is not decorated and is simple.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is PLAIN.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, June 26, No. 1468 was OFFER.

Recent Wordle answers

June 22, No. 1464: THRUM

June 23, No. 1465: ODDLY

June 24, No. 1466: ELITE

June 25, No. 1467: COMFY

Will Wordle run out of words?

When Wordle began, creator Josh Wardle used a list of five-letter words he’d shared with his partner, picking only the words they recognized. While that’s more than 2,000 words, more than half of them have already been used.

Wordle editor Tracy Bennett admitted that the game will eventually have to come to grips with the fact that the word list is not eternal.

«One possibility is that we could recycle old words at some point, like when we get close to the end,» Bennett told a Wordle player on TikTok.

She also said the editors might throw all the words back in and reuse them, or allow plurals, or past tense, something that’s not done now.