Has Your Email Been Hacked?

Has Your Email Been Hacked?
Hands type on a computer keyboard. (Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)
8/29/2014
Updated:
8/29/2014
No one likes to get the message from a friend that they have received a strange email from your email address.  Getting hacked is not fun and honestly it sucks to deal with.  Here are some steps to keep in mind if/when it happens to you.
  1. First and foremost, you must regain access to your account as soon as possible.  Sometimes hackers will only log in to send out a mass email and not change your password.  If that is the case then log in and change your password, make sure to try to make a strong and secure password too.  Nothing too obvious.  If you store other password information in your email, you'll want to log into those accounts and change those passwords as well.
  2. Next, because you changed your password(s), you‘ll have to log into your account on your other devices so that you’ll be able to access them easily.  This can be a tedious step, but it’s something you'll have to do eventually so why not just bust it all out at once?
  3. Check your email settings.  You‘ll want to make sure the hacker hasn’t changed any of your settings.  For example you’ll want to double check the secondary recovery email is still correct, or no forwarding rules were created for incoming mail.
  4. Notify your contacts.  Let them know that your email has been hacked and to delete any strange email messages from your email address.  If it seems suspicious, just delete and ignore.
  5. For added security, you can implement 2 factor authentications, this will make your account more secure and harder to hack into.  When you log in, you will be sent a special code via text message that you will need to enter to gain access to your account.  Major websites offer this and will automatically ask you upon signing in, but if not it can always be found under settings.
  6. Don’t forget to update other accounts that had the same password you used for your email.  It’s always a good practice to update all passwords periodically and try not to use the same one for everything.
  7. Scan your computer for malware to ensure the hacker did not install anything on your computer that could be detrimental in the future.
  8. Always keep an eye out for anything suspicious and stay away from anything that could possibly be phishing or dangerous.

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