This post comes to us from the Market Leader blog:

You may have heard about the destructive security bug, "Heartbleed," that attacks a vulnerable flaw in major online security systems enabling it to access encrypted data. Warnings about Heartbleed are loud and alarming for good reason.

Don't ignore the ever-increasing need for vigilance in protecting your data. The Heartbleed Bug launched about two years ago, and there's no way for you to know what may have been compromised by this vulnerability, including Web, email, instant messaging, and some virtual private networks.

So we encourage you to practice good security measures, like remembering to change your online passwords. (Yea, yea, we know—it's like hearing your dental hygienist reminding you to floss—but it's gotta be done!)

Here are some excellent tips on protecting yourself and/or your brokerage along with links to more technical details and helpful information to use with your sphere of influence.

What can you do to protect yourself from Heartbleed?

• Change your passwords every few months. Especially passwords on financial accounts (banking, credit cards, etc.) and any site you regularly shop on. Before going to the trouble of changing all 250+ of your passwords, take a peek at the great list Mashable.com put together to prioritize websites where you should consider changing your password.
• Be a little leery of public Wi-Fi networks. As suggested in NPR's blog post by Elise Hu and Steve Henn, limit your Internet behavior to non-transactional based or using websites that access financial information while on the Wi-Fi at Starbucks or other public places.