A large botnet is being used to brute-force passwords for a significant number of WordPress blogs. And by large, we mean large…

The botnet is estimated at using some 90,000 computers and tens of thousands of unique IP addresses in its increasing number of attacks. As is the case with brute-force attacks, conventional methods of stopping them, such as blocking IPs after several failed login attempts, won’t hold up. What’s stopping it?

Strong, unique usernames and passwords.

The attackers are targeting users with the most frequently reused usernames and passwords: admin, test, administrator, root; 123456, 11111, etc. By not using those credentials, Matt Mullenweg, founding developer of WordPress says, “…you’ll be ahead of 99 percent of sites out there and probably never have a problem.”

WordPress advises you to update your username and password to something strong and unique. WordPress.com users should enable two-step authentication. We add our strong support to that advice, plus one tip.

Use a password manager

Now is also a good time to set up Dashlane, a password manager that helps protect you against such attacks. When you have the ability to randomly generate and securely store your passwords – and autofill them instantly all over the web – you’re not dependent on having to create easy-to-remember (read: easy-to-guess) passwords or reuse them. And when you have a personalized Security Dashboard showing you where your weak spots are, you can be proactive about your online security. 

For the strongest passwords you’ve ever had – and never had to remember - get Dashlane today.

In October 2012, Dashlane partnered with Pwnedlist, the largest database of published online credentials, to enhance our Security Alerts feature. We’ve gotten some questions about how our Security Alerts work, so we think it’s worth clarifying our process.

When we launch a Security Alert, as we did yesterday for Netflix, it’s because login credentials were found online by Pwnedlist. In this case, they were in plain text (cringe). Pwnedlist reported on 3/16/2013, “A hacker known as Fugazi has published a list of account credentials that they claim belong to users of netflix.com. The data includes a list of passwords and emails. The passwords are in plaintext format.”

Our general rule is to push alerts for leaks that PwnedList (a very reputable source) considers verified. Since Dashlane makes it incredibly easy to change your passwords and even securely share that information – and Netflix accounts are often shared - we pushed an alert. The effort spent changing a password outweighs the damage cause by a leaked, or worse, a reused password. It’s what makes Dashlane a hackers worst nightmare.

Regarding Netflix, this leak was one among a couple that we received. We continue to strongly suggest that you update your Netflix password and any other accounts where it may have been used. Hackers love reused passwords. (They bank on them). And when it comes to your online security, safe is always better than sorry.

We have a new iPhone release today! Dashlane for iPhone version 2.2 is here, bringing fully-functional secure notes and secure sending via Dashlane Courier to iPhone!

Access your secure notes, create new ones, edit or delete them, and sync across all your devices.

Plus, now you can securely send notes and logins to trusted others via Dashlane Courier, and never send sensitive info in plain-text again!

Dashlane Courier will deliver an encrypted message with a unique access code that allows the recipient to decrypt and view your note or login information. Thirty minutes after the message is accessed, the encrypted data is self-destructs and is deleted from the server, keeping your information private and safe.

Also new in the app is iPhone 5 compatibility, complete with retina support and UI, so you can put all of  your screen space to work! 

We’ve also made significant speed improvements to the app, cutting down on loading time and making it faster to use our integrated browser to autofill forms and create new passwords on-the-fly!

Visit the iTunes Store and get the latest version today! And if you love our new update, don’t forget to rate it :)

Not only did PC Magazine don our app with 4.5 stars and their Editor’s Choice award last August, now they’ve named Dashlane as one of The 50 Best Free iPhone Apps of 2013!

As Jill Duffy from PCMag explains, awesome and truly free iPhone apps are hard to come by:

“This list highlights 50 apps, across a number of genres, that we at PCMag think have shown outstanding performance, have been well received by a variety of technology users, and are truly “free.” No gimmicks, no “membership required” or in-app purchase necessary. Free. Period.”

Free, indeed. It’s only fair that if you to start using randomly generated passwords for all your accounts, you access to them on-the-go, when you may need them most. And with an app that “hits the sweet spot between security and laziness”, as Sara Yin from PC Mag puts it, it sounds like we’re doing just that!

We’re very honored and delighted to be named in PCMag’s Top 50, especially among so many greats (and favorites), like Chrome, Draw Something, StumbleUpon and others.  What are some of your favorite iPhone freebies? Tell us in the comments. You could be responsible for someone finding their favorite, new app.

And if you haven’t already downloaded our iPhone app, there’s no time like the present to try it. (Our Android app is free, too!)

Today marks the release of desktop version 1.7.5 and the launch of our all-new, power-packed browser extension, complete with the customizable random password generator!

Here’s what all our new browser extension can do:

Customize your randomly generated passwords: add length, special characters, even make them pronounceable, and auto-fill them in one easy click!

Search for and launch your logins.

Plus, get instant access to Dashlane Tips & Tricks and our help section, and become a Dashlane pro in no time.

Also in this release, we’ve added compatibility for Chrome 25, which includes a tutorial for enabling your browser extension, should it get turned off in Chrome’s next update. Plus, we have new designs for our webcards and notifications.

That’s it for this release! Get the free update today, and let us know how you like it! For help with the update, get in touch at support@dashlane.com. 

This update is available for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.