Cyber attacks and data breaches are increasing worldwide. Even large organizations with vast resources struggle to keep up with these threats, so what can regular Internet users like you do about it?
For this year’s Safer Internet Day, the provider behind one of the most secure web browsers has decided to develop a tool that allows you to keep your privacy under control online. Formerly known as Firefox Monitor, Mozilla MonitorPlus is a new paid service that automatically scans the internet to delete your personal information if it has been leaked.
The Mozilla Monitor Plus initial scan is only available if you are in the US at the time of writing and is completely free. The software complements Firefox’s security and privacy tools, including the free email breach alert, two-factor authentication, and VPN service.
The need for Mozilla Monitor Plus
“When we launched Monitor, our goal was to help people discover where their personal data may have been exposed,” said Tony Amaral-Cinotto, product manager of Mozilla Monitor. “Now with Monitor Plus we’re helping people get their exposed data back from data broker sites trying to sell it.”
Formerly known as Firefox Monitor, the tool was first launched in 2018 as a free service to alert people when they have been part of a data breach. All you had to do was type your email address into the scan bar and the browser would check if it was involved in an incident. If you are notified, you can act accordingly to protect your privacy, for example by changing your account password.
However, a lot has changed since then. The information we share online continues to grow, but so do incidents of data breaches. There was a huge increase worldwide in 2023: more than 110.8 million accounts were hacked in the second half of the year alone, discovered VPN provider Surfshark.
While we are all becoming more aware of this growing problem, taking control of our data online can be extremely time-consuming and quite overwhelming. Where should we even start? With its new tool, Mozilla aims to provide an easy way out of this security and privacy mess.
According to Amaral-Cinotto, Mozilla Monitor Plus’ simple, step-by-step process makes the tool unique in its simplicity.
All you have to do is sign up with Mozilla to get your first scan for free. You will need to provide your first and last name, the current city and state you live in, your date of birth, and your email address. Mozilla ensures that all your data is encrypted for security and processed in accordance with the provider’s privacy policy.
“Additionally, we combine breach alerts and data broker removal to provide an all-in-one protection tool and make it easier for people to feel safe online,” Amaral-Cinotto added.
However, to get the most out of the tool, you will need to upgrade to the paid Monitor Plus service. You can choose the monthly subscription for $13.99, or the one-year subscription, which costs the equivalent of $8.99 per month (a total of $107.88 for the entire year).
Paid subscribers will let Mozilla Monitor handle data deletion requests on their behalf, while the tool automatically scans more than 190 data broker sites every month (twice as many as competitors, the provider claims) to ensure your personal data isn’t compromised. range of actors.
At the time of writing, you can only use Mozilla Monitor Plus if you live in the United States. It is expected that new locations will be added at a later date. The new data deletion tool is intended to complement Mozilla’s security suite, which also includes Firefox Relay and Mozilla VPN.