this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2025
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Privacy

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What should I do after finding my info on a Data Breach searching website? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 day ago by A9b382ks@lemmy.world to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
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I put my old Gmail accounts on websites like haveibeenpwned.com osintleak.com pentester.com and osint.industries

And the results had a lot of personal info like old usernames I used, old passwords, IP addresses and other info

What can I do now?

I deleted all of my old Gmail accounts. I changed all of my usernames everywhere or deleted the accounts associated with them and changed all the passwords. I use Proton and Email aliases when signing up for services and random generated passwords with fake info everywhere(if possible) and I do use a VPN on all of my devices.

Is there anything more I can do?

Because those Emails had my full real name in them and I used them literally everywhere.

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[–] guest@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Can you explain the VPN part a bit more? What do you mean with discretion here?

[–] CatZoomies@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Use of a VPN depends on your privacy threat model.

Using VPN at all times while using the internet like one normally does is beneficial only to the extent that you encrypt your traffic and prevent your ISP from spying on you… mostly. But if you’re logging into known accounts associated with you, then it’s a moot point. Your traffic is encrypted, but your use of services leaves an easy to follow cookie trail of where you’ve been.

If your privacy threat model is much more serious, then you wouldn’t login to any known accounts while on your VPN. You wouldn’t use services that can be pinpointed to you.

Hence, use a VPN to your discretion. If you generally don’t want your ISP spying on you, keeping it on is always best practice. If you have more things to hide, you’d want to use Tor while on VPN and of course don’t use any services that could be linked to you.

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

So you know what the s means in https right. This B's of VPN is encrypted the net is encrypted now.

[–] CatZoomies@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago

HTTPS with no VPN:

You trust the web site to encrypt your data if and only if the web site has properly implemented encryption along with encrypted DNS traffic. Sometimes you make a connection to HTTP before you're redirected to HTTPS. Your ISP can see what web sites you visit, but the ISP can't see what you're doing because the traffic is encrypted so long as encryption is implemented correctly. ISP knows you went to https://www.website.com/.

Conclusion: Your ISP knows exactly what web sites you visit, but can't see what you're doing on the web site (if encryption is properly configured by the web site provider).

HTTP or HTTPS with trusted VPN (e.g., Mullvad):

You trust the VPN provider. Your connections are encrypted entirely. Your ISP can't see what web sites you're visiting nor can they interpret your traffic.

Conclusion: Your ISP is completely blind to what you're doing and where you're going.

ExpressVPN:

"HTTPS is essential for security, but it can only do so much. Don’t fall into a false sense of security—there are limitations to HTTPS protection:

  • HTTPS doesn’t hide what websites you visit. Your ISP or network provider can still see which sites you access, even if they can’t view what you do on them.
  • HTTPS won’t protect data stored on a website. If a site suffers a data breach, HTTPS won’t prevent hackers from accessing your saved information.
  • HTTPS cannot encrypt all your internet traffic. It only secures connections between your browser and a site—not your entire internet activity.
  • You have no control over HTTPS. The protocol is set by website owners, so if you visit a website without HTTPS protection, there is no way for you to enable it." Source: https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/https-vs-vpn/

PureVPN:

"HTTPS:

  • Encrypts data between your browser and websites.
  • Protects against eavesdropping on web transactions.
  • Activated automatically with 'https://' VPN:
  • Encrypts and routes all internet traffic, including from apps.
  • Protects the entire internet connection. A VPN is used to establish an encrypted connection - also referred to as tunnel - between your device and unsecure network like the Internet. Since all your traffic goes through the VPN's server rather than that of your ISP, nobody can find out what you're up to online. What HTTPS Cannot Do?
  • Hide Your IP Address: HTTPS doesn't mask your IP address. Websites and your ISP can still see your IP and location, whereas a VPN hides your IP, making your online presence more anonymous.
  • Encrypt All Internet Traffic: HTTPS only secures data between your browser and websites. A VPN encrypts all your internet traffic, including apps and services outside your browser.
  • Prevent ISP Tracking: Your ISP can still see which sites you visit with HTTPS, they just can’t see the exact content. A VPN encrypts all your traffic, preventing ISPs from tracking your web activities. https://www.purevpn.com/blog/https-vs-vpn/

Here are more sources I won't quote, but you can read: