> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.hosting.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Security & Dark Web Monitoring

> Security & Dark Web Monitoring helps you find out if your email address or other account information has appeared in known data breaches.
If your information is exposed, we'll alert you so you can take steps to protect your accounts.

**Security & Dark Web Monitoring** helps you find out if your email address or other account information has appeared in known data breaches.

If your information is exposed, we'll alert you so you can take steps to protect your accounts.

## What is a data breach?

A data breach happens when information held by a company is exposed, stolen, or leaked.

This can include:

* Email addresses
* Passwords
* Usernames
* Names
* Phone numbers

Your information may appear in a breach even if your **[Hosting.com](http://Hosting.com) account and website are secure**.

For example, you may have used your work email address to sign up for another website or service. If that company later has a data breach, your email address could appear in the leaked information.

## How it works

When you activate the service:

1. We check your monitored email addresses against known historical breach data.
2. We continue monitoring for new exposure.
3. If we find a match, we'll send you an alert.
4. You can review the finding in your monitoring dashboard.

The first check includes **historical data**, so you may see breaches that happened months or years ago.

## What can I monitor?

You can monitor:

* **A domain** — checks email addresses associated with your domain.
* **An individual email address** — checks that address directly.

## What does an alert mean?

An alert means that information associated with one of your monitored email addresses was found in known leaked data.

It does **not** automatically mean that:

* Your [Hosting.com](http://Hosting.com) account was hacked.
* Your website was hacked.
* Someone has accessed your email.
* Your domain was stolen.

If the alert shows that a **password was exposed**, change that password anywhere you may have used it.

> **Tip:** Use a unique password for every account and turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) whenever it's available.

## What does the service not check?

Security & Dark Web Monitoring does not:

* Scan your website or server for malware.
* Scan your website for vulnerabilities.
* Read or scan your email.
* Remove leaked information from the internet.
* Monitor your domain for email spoofing or blacklisting.

These are separate security services.

## No results found?

That's a good thing.

It means we haven't found your monitored information in the breach data we've checked.

Monitoring continues, and we'll alert you if we find a new match.

## Need help?

Ready to get started? See **\[[Set Up Security & Dark Web Monitoring](/set-up-security-and-dark-web-monitoring)]**.

Already received an alert? See **\[[I Received a Security Alert — What Should I Do?](/i-received-a-security-alert-what-should-i-do)]** for the next steps.

Want to understand a finding? See **\[[How to Read Your Security & Dark Web Monitoring Report](/how-to-read-your-security-and-dark-web-monitoring-report)]**.