Okta just launched a free browser extension for Google Chrome today. After installing PassProtect, your browser will compare the passwords you type with Troy Hunt’s Have I Been Pwned.
This extension isn’t necessarily for you, tech savvy readers of TechCrunch. But it could be a great way to warn your neighbor who doesn’t know anything about computers. Maybe their Gmail password has been part of a data breach.
Have I Been Pwned is a big database with all the passwords that have leaked over the years. There have been security breaches at Dropbox, LinkedIn, Tumblr or Adobe services. So chances are you’ve been pwned in the past.
That’s why you should be using a password manager, a different password for each online service and two-factor authentication when it’s possible. And that’s also why many companies rely on Okta to secure your authentication to a company’s intranet.
But the vast majority of users don’t do that.
So the next time you visit your relatives, you could install this extension for basic security checks. The extension uses k-Anonimity to check your password against Hunt’s database securely. Your passwords are never shared with Okta or Have I Been Pwned. The extension is also open source.
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Romain Dillet was a Senior Reporter at TechCrunch until April 2025. He has written over 3,500 articles on technology and tech startups and has established himself as an influential voice on the European tech scene. He has a deep background in startups, AI, fintech, privacy, security, blockchain, mobile, social and media. With thirteen years of experience at TechCrunch, he’s one of the familiar faces of the tech publication that obsessively covers Silicon Valley and the tech industry — his career started at TechCrunch when he was 21. Based in Paris, many people in the tech ecosystem consider him as the most knowledgeable tech journalist in town. Romain likes to spot important startups before anyone else. He was the first person to cover Revolut, Alan and N26. He has written scoops on large acquisitions from Apple, Microsoft and Snap. When he’s not writing, Romain is also a developer — he understands how the tech behind the tech works. He also has a deep historical knowledge of the computer industry for the past 50 years. He knows how to connect the dots between innovations and the effect on the fabric of our society. Romain graduated from Emlyon Business School, a leading French business school specialized in entrepreneurship. He has helped several non-profit organizations, such as StartHer, an organization that promotes education and empowerment of women in technology, and Techfugees, an organization that empowers displaced people with technology.