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You probably know by now that using one of thebest VPNapps makes your online life more private and secure.

But what if your VPN logins get compromised?

Shadowed hands on a digital background reaching for a login prompt.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Worse still, three of TechRadar’smost secure VPNproviders were among the most affected services.

At the same time, it also spoofs your real IP address location to keep you more private online.

Consumers and organizations are increasingly using VPNs to boost their privacy when browsing the web.

Data Breach

The most common password to be compromised was 123456, which was found to be leaked 5,290 times.

Despite this, the findings suggest that users had mostly used unique or strong passwords.

“But this hasnt stopped them from becoming compromised,” noted researchers.

Users may have been tricked into giving away their secret login details on fake websites impersonating the VPN provider.

Cybercriminals are used to taking advantage of reliable brands to carry out phishing attacks.

Keylogger malware could also be used to capture keystrokes, including VPN passwords.

A NordVPN spokesperson also suggests that cybercriminals may have used so-called credential stuffing attacks to compromise VPN passwords.

“Importantly, we cannot know how many of the identified credentials are active versus expired.”

You must be careful of the links you click and practice good cyber hygiene at all times, too.

She suggestsusing strong and unique passwordsat all times.

I recommend trying out apassword managertool to help you with this.

If you’re already a NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Proton VPN user, good news!

All these providers include such a tool with its VPN service.

Stronger and safer passwords are not rocket science.

You only need a password manager.

This practice easily boost up your account security by requiring additional verification beyond just a password.

Using a reputableantivirussoftwareis also an important step as it helps you to keep your unit malware free.

While not being a full antivirus,NordVPN Threat Protection Procan considerably mitigate these pop in of threats.

You should also keepmonitoring your accountsfor suspicious activities, whilestaying informed about data breachesas they occurred.

To do this you might want to consider using data breach alert services.