Google, Facebook, Twitter, and several other services still knows the older pass

Question

Google, Facebook, Twitter, and several other services still knows the older passwords which we used on our accounts. At times, I can not reuse the same password as I have. Then with Google, if I type an old password by mistake, it tells me when I last changed my password. I think this could be more or less of a security threat over doing any good.

Why would these companies want to keep old passwords and information such as that? How much do we need to worry about them keeping that information, if someone was to break into our accounts?

Explanation / Answer

Security:

It might sound like a security hole to you. But trust me, It is one of the strongest security pattern. It prevents you from avoiding you to create an old password of yours even in your hurry times. It is really necessary for you not to re-create your old passwords, since there is always a chance of some people knowing your history(friends or foes, it still counts as a threat to your privacy).

Convenience:

You have no idea how useful it is to an user when they are notified that they entered their old password by mistake OR they changed it this time back,etc., It will really help a user who genuinely typed his old password by mistake.

Getting hacked:

Just by knowing that you changed your password last month will not help an attacker to guess your current password. It is based on the information that you put out there online.

For example, when an attacker comes to know that you changes your password two days before, he might check out your blog or social network sites you are involve in. If you put any related info that could lead to guessing your current password, thats when you are officially busted and it not because of your networks but by you.

Conclusion:

So just be careful with your online data. Update strong passwords frequently and bother less about your old passwords stored by Facebook,Google,Twitter. After all they exist to make money by your usage which means they are desperate enough to secure your identity and information as they secure theirs!

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