If you typically ignore computer bug warnings and alerts this is one you should take seriously. It is called the Heartbleed bug and it is a hole in the secure connection between your computer and internet servers that you often query for information. Prior to the bug detection experts estimated that it affected more than 66% of secure connections over the internet (connections between your computer and urls beginning with https://). These sites include many banking and merchant websites as indicated in this NBC news report below.
So what do you need to do?
- Check all secure websites (https://) to see if your connection will be vulnerable to the Heartbleed bug. Many websites with secure servers will post a message indicating that they are not or no longer vulnerable. If you cannot find that information, you may use this site to check.
- Once you have verified that your connection will not be vulnerable, change your password. If the connection is not secure, do not use it until it is secure.