The file is a plain-text database containing approximately (email addresses and their associated passwords) specifically linked to Yahoo accounts. It is not a new "live" breach but rather a curated collection of data leaked from historical Yahoo security incidents. Where does it come from?
If you have found this file on your system or are concerned about your data: 162k_yahoo.txt
: It is frequently integrated into tools like Hashcat or John the Ripper . Because these are real-world passwords, they are more effective than randomly generated strings for cracking hashes. The file is a plain-text database containing approximately
: It is likely a subset or a "cleaned" version of the larger "Yahoo! Voices" (2012) breach, where 450,000 credentials were leaked in plain text, or the "Collection #1" megabreach. Common Uses If you have found this file on your
: You can verify if your email was part of this or other leaks using Have I Been Pwned .
: If you still use the password found in such lists for any current account, change it immediately and enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) .