Getting hacked is one common concern in today’s digital world. Hackers may hijack your Facebook account and spam your friends or steal your email information and attempt to extort money from your friends by pretending they need help. If someone hacks your accounts, it can feel as violating as someone breaking into your home and taking your stuff. Although you can’t call the police the way you would for a break-in, there are steps you can take to regain control of your accounts.
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Raise the Alarm on Being Hacked
Here’s the good news: the digital giants (Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook) don’t want your information stolen either. If you get locked out of your account, it may be because the system detected suspicious activity and temporarily froze it for your protection. So, if you suspect someone hacked your account, first alert the service. Do a quick search “report Facebook hack” to learn how, but be careful! Hackers also create malicious sites to steal your information, so make sure the URL uses the correct domain, has no misspelled words, and doesn’t look suspicious. Finally, contact IdentityTheft.gov if you believe a hacker mishandled your private data.
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If You’ve Been Hacked: Change Passwords
As soon as you can log in, change all your passwords. This will prevent the hacker from getting back in. A few tips: don’t reuse an old password, and if you’re using the same password on multiple accounts (you shouldn’t, but the reality is there are too many sites with unique logins, and people do), change it everywhere you use that password. Also, check your account settings to see where else you are logged in. Many services will call this a session. Once you find it, spend a few minutes looking through your open sessions and login history. Then, close any you don’t recognize. Find out more about password managers.
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Set Up Security Checks
Once you’ve recovered from this, you don’t want it to happen again. To prevent future hackers, set up some security. One of the easiest is to switch to two-step verification for logging in. When you log in from a new location (a new IP address), the system sends a code to your phone via text. Then, you must enter it before you can log in. You should also consider using an authenticator app. Installing an authenticator app on a smartphone, PC, or tablet helps enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) and secure access to online accounts. There are several excellent choices: Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and Proton Authenticator.
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Another option for security is a physical security key that you use along with two-step authentication. An example of this is the USB-like YubiKey that plugs into your computer. The encryption is exclusive to you and your device. You can open it only with a PIN and the physical key.
Physical security keys provide maximum protection when logging into online accounts. Numerous platforms already support the option.
In addition, run a virus scan to look for malware or other viruses. The hacker may have left these behind or used them as the doorway. Lastly, if someone hacked your email, check for filters you didn’t set up and delete them.
One final note: if someone compromised one account, play it safe and assume they compromised them all. It may take you some extra work now, but it will be worth it to protect your data in the long run.
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