[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f2ubo3px2n4tm1":3},{"success":4,"breach":5},true,{"_id":6,"name":7,"title":8,"slug":9,"domain":10,"breachDate":11,"addedDate":12,"modifiedDate":12,"contentUpdatedAt":13,"source":14,"sourceUrl":15,"sourceUrls":16,"pwnCount":20,"affectedCount":20,"affectedCountStatus":21,"affectedCountLowerBound":22,"affectedCountUnit":23,"hasEnglishDescription":4,"severity":24,"dataClasses":25,"description":30,"seoTitle":31,"seoTitleEn":32,"seoDescription":31,"seoDescriptionEn":33,"logoUrl":34,"isVerified":4,"isSensitive":35,"isSpamList":35,"isMalware":35,"company":36},"68e3266eda11adda4882528e","MajorGeeks","MajorGeeks Data Breach","majorgeeks","majorgeeks.com","2015-11-15T00:00:00.000Z","2016-03-03T02:45:09.000Z","2026-07-18T23:53:46.589Z","Support forum breach","https:\u002F\u002Fm.majorgeeks.com\u002Fcontent\u002Fpage\u002Faboutcontact_us.html",[15,17,18,19],"https:\u002F\u002Fm.majorgeeks.com\u002Fcontent\u002Fpage\u002Fterms_of_service.html","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.majorgeeks.com\u002F","https:\u002F\u002Fforums.majorgeeks.com\u002F",269548,"known",null,"unknown","High",[26,27,28,29],"Email addresses","IP addresses","Passwords","Usernames","\u003Cp>The MajorGeeks data breach is a 2015 forum account incident affecting account holders who use the software download site and support forum community. The confirmed incident date is November 15, 2015, and the confirmed number of affected accounts is 269,548. The record contains email addresses, IP addresses, usernames, and salted password hashes. This combination of data poses risks of account takeover, profile matching, spam, and phishing, especially for people using the same username and a similar password on technology forums.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>MajorGeeks is a US-based technology site that offers software downloads that have undergone editor reviews for Windows and other platforms, guides, tools, and support forums. The official terms page lists the company owner as being located in Camillus, New York; the current site also highlights the forums and software download categories. Therefore, registration should be treated not as a general retail event, but as a software download community and support forum account violation. Verified scope should not be extended to payment, identity, phone, or real name data.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Leaked Data Types and Risks\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The types of data verified in this record are email addresses, IP addresses, usernames, and password hashes. An email address can be used to send a fake forum notification, fake software update, or fake security alert. A username poses a profile matching risk for individuals who use the same nickname on different technology forums. IP addresses alone do not provide full identity information; however, when combined with other fields in the context of session history, approximate location, and forum activity, they can increase the privacy impact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The password field should not be presented as plain text. Reliable records indicate that salted password hashes are present in this field. Using hashes reduces risk; however, short, weak, or previously used passwords still carry the risk of being cracked and tried on other services. If the same email and password have been reused on other accounts, attackers may attempt logins on email, social media, cloud storage, gaming, forum, or shopping accounts. Therefore, even an old forum breach is significant for current account security.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Verified Scope and Boundaries\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The verified scope of the MajorGeeks record includes support forum accounts that were breached in the November 2015 period. The record was added to the verified breach lists on March 3, 2016. The verified data classes should be maintained as Email addresses, IP addresses, Passwords, and Usernames. This record does not imply that MajorGeeks software download content or files on the user's device were compromised. Similarly, payment card, bank information, phone number, physical address, real name, or identification document are not verified fields for this incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Source records indicate that account data is being sold and shared online. This information increases the severity of the risk because the data has not remained confined to a closed system but has circulated among third parties. Nevertheless, uncertain details about the attack method or forum software should not be presented to the user as verified findings. An accurate assessment should focus on the account security and social engineering risks created by the combination of forum account data, password hashes, email, IP, and username.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>User Groups at Risk\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The individuals at the highest risk are those who have registered on the MajorGeeks support forum and have reused the same username or password on different forums. People who use the same nickname on technology forums, software download sites, gaming communities, and hardware discussion areas can be easily linked. The risk still exists for users who forget their old forum account, do not change their email address, or keep the same password for years. An IP address can also support the risk of profiling together with old session history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People who frequently use software download sites should be especially careful about fake download links and fake update messages. Attackers may try to build trust by using the name MajorGeeks, an old forum account, or a software update theme. This risk applies even to users with high technological knowledge, because messages appear more convincing when they contain a real username or old email information. Those who use the same password for their main email account should check first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Urgent Measures to Be Taken\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Users who see a MajorGeeks match should first check whether the password they used on this forum has been repeated on other accounts. If the same or a similar password has been used elsewhere, unique new passwords should be preferred, especially for email, social media, cloud storage, gaming, shopping, and other forum accounts. Simply changing a password with a small addition is not enough; a separate and long password should be chosen for each service. The login history, recovery address, and forwarding settings of the main email account should also be reviewed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enable multi-step verification on important supported accounts. Do not click directly on links in emails from MajorGeeks, software updates, forum messages, driver downloads, security tools, or account verification themed emails. Go to the site yourself through the browser and check the domain. Unexpected file download links, fake support requests, and urgent password change messages require particular attention. If you receive a suspicious login notification, change your password, close active sessions, and verify recovery options.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Long-Term Security Strategies\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>This record shows that forum and software download accounts are also part of the critical account security chain. Using a password manager in the long term facilitates generating unique and strong passwords for each account. Regularly reviewing old forum memberships, closing unused accounts, and separating the email addresses used on forums from the main email account reduces the attack surface. Reusing the same username across different communities should also be managed carefully, as it increases the risk of profile matching.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Permanent security discipline is also necessary in software downloading habits. Do not download files from unknown links, check the download address, and keep security software up to date. Private messages, file suggestions, and technical support replies from forums should be carefully examined even if they appear legitimate. Email, username, and IP data from old breaches can combine with other data sets years later. Therefore, cleaning up old accounts, monitoring password reuse, and multi-step authentication are fundamental parts of long-term protection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2>Record Control and User Action\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>A match in the MajorGeeks record indicates that the user's email address, IP address, username, or salted password hash may have appeared in a 2015 forum account data leak. This result does not imply a leak of payment information, phone, ID document, or device file. User action should start with account security: locate accounts using the old password, set a unique password for each, enable multi-step verification on important accounts, and close any suspicious sessions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After checking, look for MajorGeeks registration and forum notifications in your email account. List other technology communities where you use the same username. Before clicking links in fake software update, forum reply, or security tool messages, verify by typing the address yourself. If your work account or main email account is affected, inform the relevant security team. The best approach for this record is to finish changing your passwords, clean up old forum accounts, and be more selective about software download-themed phishing messages.\u003C\u002Fp>","","MajorGeeks Data Breach (269.5 Thousand Reported Records)","MajorGeeks Data Breach. 269.5 Thousand reported records were reported. Reported data: Email addresses, IP addresses, Passwords. Review the scope, risks, and…","\u002Fuploads\u002Flogo\u002Fmajorgeeks_com.webp",false,{"name":7,"sector":37,"country":38,"website":10,"websiteArchiveUrl":31,"websiteStatus":31,"websiteCheckedAt":22},"Software Downloads \u002F Support Forum","United States"]