{"id":63431,"date":"2019-07-26T06:09:28","date_gmt":"2019-07-26T10:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.online-tech-tips.com\/?p=63431"},"modified":"2024-04-16T00:14:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T04:14:01","slug":"5-signs-that-youve-been-hacked-and-what-to-do-about-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.online-tech-tips.com\/5-signs-that-youve-been-hacked-and-what-to-do-about-it\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Signs That You’ve Been Hacked (And What To Do About It)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been hacked\u201d is a common thing to hear\nthese days. Whether it\u2019s someone mistakenly referring to a random malware\ninfection or a person trying to walk back a regrettable social media post, it\u2019s\na term that gets thrown around a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting hacked is, however, a real danger for modern day users of devices like computers, smartphones and tablets. There exists an entire underground of so called \u201cblack hat\u201d hackers that profit from exploiting vulnerabilities in systems and human psychology. Identity theft and direct monetary theft are two common drivers of these criminal hackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The problem is that knowing you\u2019ve been hacked\ncan be hard. It\u2019s not like there\u2019s a big flashing red light to let you know.\nWhich is why you should be aware of common signs that something isn\u2019t right in\nyour digital world. Thus, here are the signs that you have been the unfortunate\nvictim of a hack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Hacker Tells You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re starting with the most obvious sign that\nyou\u2019ve been hacked, which is simply being contacted by someone purporting to be\nthe hacker and having them say so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This could be via direct message, by email or\nthrough malware such as ransomware. Either way, the hacker will usually tell\nyou that they\u2019ve compromised you and then provide some form of evidence. This\nwill then be followed by some sort of demand, often money in the form of a\ncryptocurrency payment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What should you do?<\/strong> The first thing you should know is that just because someone says they\u2019ve managed to hack you, doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s the case. One recent trick is to contact a person via email and then show them that they have their password for a specific account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s actually happening here is that the scammer has pulled an old password and hopes to scare you into giving them money or something of real use. If they actually had access to your account they\u2019d demonstrate it in a concrete way (like encrypting your entire computer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, log into the account in question, change\nthe password and activate two-factor authentication if possible. Also, if any\nother accounts are using the password you\u2019ve been threatened with, change them\nimmediately. Then forget all about it. Also, never ever give money to these\npeople, it will do nothing to help you and only embolden them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the threat is real, then contact the\nservice provider and let them know your account has been hijacked. If you\u2019ve\nbeen a victim of ransomware, which encrypts your data and asks for money, cut\nyour losses. Wipe the machine and restore data from backups. You should also\nkeep your most critical info in something like Dropbox, which lets you roll\nback any changes for a long window period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Can\u2019t Log In<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the first signs that you\u2019ve been hacked is when your credentials for an account refuse to work. You\u2019ve double-checked and still can\u2019t log in. Weird, right? Well this is a pretty obvious sign that someone else has the keys to your kingdom and that can be a very serious situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nshould you do? <\/strong>The right course of action here depends\non a few things. You should immediately initiate a password reset and change\nyour password if you can. Then, if the service offers it, activate two-factor\nauthentication. This means having to type in an additional one-time code from\nyour phone or via email, but is a very effective way to prevent hacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your primary email account has been hacked\nand you have not set up any backup recovery options prior to it happening, you\nneed to get in touch with the service provider immediately so that they can\nsuspend the account and then verify your identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activity That Wasn\u2019t You<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Are your friends messaging you because of something you posted on Twitter? Did your online persona suddenly send some very NSFW content to your boss? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a pretty clear-cut sign that your account has been taken over. You can follow exactly the same advice as in the point above, but also be sure to post a notice on your social media accounts apologizing for the content and disclaiming yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Browser is Being Rebellious<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Did you notice something strange when opening\nup your web browser? Your usual home page is nowhere to be seen. Instead some\nstrange new search engine sits there, waiting for you like an unwanted frog in\nthe bath. You try to type in a search term in the address bar, but it all just\nredirects you to that weird new site. When you try to visit your usual\nwebsites, the address and site don\u2019t look quite the way they should. What\u2019s\ngoing on?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a common technique hackers achieve\nthrough malware, called browser hijacking<\/em>.\nYour browser has been compromised and you can\u2019t trust it anymore. Often, when a\nbrowser is hijacked, you are redirected to fake versions of websites that are\ncontrolled by the hacker who created the malware. They can then capture your\ndetails and gain access to other sites such as online banking services using\nyour name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sometimes the goal is to simply turn your\nmachine into an advertising money mill. Ads will pop up and be clicked on\nautomatically. Gaming the system and making money for those advertisers.\nWhatever the reason, this is a pretty bad situation to be in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Should You Do? <\/strong>First, you should uninstall any software added to the system since the problems started. You should also look for any applications you don\u2019t remember installing and remove them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is usually not enough to get rid of the problem, so after finishing the normal uninstall process, you then need to use a malware removal tool such as Malwarebytes<\/a> to clean out the infestation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Device is Acting Strangely<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The signs above are pretty overt, but often a compromise of your device is a little more subtle. If your computer is constantly slow and working at full capacity, that could be a sign things aren\u2019t right. Does the battery on your phone run out much more quickly? Does the mouse pointer move by itself or applications open and close without you doing anything? Are some things, such as your antivirus, suddenly disabled?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These and other similar signs point to outside\ninterference, with a hacker gaining control of your system somehow. Scary,\nright?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Should You Do? <\/strong>First of all, disconnect that device from the internet! If someone is actively sending it commands, cutting off that access is the first step. Secondly, if you can, run anti-malware and antivirus software. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the best option is probably to do a factory reset or complete wipe and reinstall of that system. You may even want to have the device cleaned by a specialist, to make sure that nothing remains on it that could open a window for the hacker again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your Webcam Lights Up When Not in\nUse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever seen photos of people in front\nof a computer, with a little piece of tape stuck over their webcam? That\u2019s\nbecause webcam hacking is surprisingly common and the last thing you want is to\nbe spied on! If you notice your webcam activity light coming on when you aren\u2019t\nusing it, be very suspicious!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Should You Do? <\/strong>Again, we want to run malware and antivirus software. You\u2019ll also want to see if the make and model of your webcam has received a driver or firmware update, which may contain a patch for any security flaws hackers have found. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a webcam that can be switched off or disconnected, you should only have it turned on when using it. If you have a built-in camera, well that sticky tape strategy is not a bad one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checking if You\u2019re The Victim of\na Data Breach<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When big (or small) companies who keep you data get hacked, it could be years before that information is used against you. Often the companies don\u2019t even know that its happened until the stolen data is put up for sale. Luckily you can head over to Have I Been Pwned<\/a>, which maintains a searchable database of all known data breaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By simply putting in your email address, you can see if you have been compromised. If you have been a victim, go ahead and change all your passwords. In fact, you may want to make use of a password manager that auto-generates unique strong passwords for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hack This!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While there are plenty of shady people out on\nthe net who want to target regular people for personal gain, you don\u2019t have to\ntake it lying down. If you pay attention and practice a good security approach,\nyou can often contain the situation before any serious damage is done!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019ve been hacked\u201d is a common thing to hear these days. Whether it\u2019s someone mistakenly referring to a random malware infection or a person trying to walk back a regrettable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":63432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ub_ctt_via":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-63431","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tech"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.online-tech-tips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/hacking.jpeg","author_info":{"display_name":"Aseem Kishore","author_link":"https:\/\/www.online-tech-tips.com\/author\/akishoreott\/"},"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t