How to know if you’ve been hacked

There are about 30,000 websites hacked per day, with no prediction of such stats becoming more optimistic in the near future. Along with that, people have been suffering from identity theft occurrences and privacy has been lost for good.

With the term of hacking, we enclose all the actions related to intercepting sensitive data by penetrating into a system that is not yours. Most often hackers gain access of other people’s computers not only for stealing personal information, but also for triggering illegal actions and generally harming people.

This is definitely a hostile environment and the answer does not lie beneath the decision to abstain from the web. This is not a solution to hacking attempts, without a doubt. Nevertheless, every single person needs to be kept up to date as to what needs to be done in the case of a hacked computer.

So, the IT experts from The Computer Guyz in Cape Town and Centurion, are going to highlight some details about what to do in hacking. Read along and find out how to be kept safe and sound, even when disaster strikes!

Many people get hacked and do not even have a clue about it, till it is too late. This is why it is crucial that you know exactly what you are dealing with beforehand. These are the signs that will offer you the certainty that something is wrong and you ought to take some action about it:

• Your credit cards have been compromised: This is of course a serious outcome that can be related to hacking, especially if you engage in financial transactions online.

• Your email account has been compromised: If you receive emails from friends worrying that what they got from you is not genuine or when you notice a lot of strange emails sent by your account, you should look no further. The chances are you’ve been hacked!

• New programs are installed: You may notice that there are new programs in use on your computer, even though you have not authorized their installation and activation.

• Computer passwords change: It is common for hackers to change the passwords that you use. This is definite proof that somebody else has got access to your computer.

• Fake antivirus notifications: In case you have been hacked, perhaps there are fake antivirus notifications either informing you that everything is OK or alarming you and luring you to take action.

• Unwanted browser searches: There are some solid steps one can take to strengthen the security of a browser, but when you’ve been hacked – taking such cautions into consideration won’t do much. You might check your browser searches and find that there are multiple searches that you have not completed yourself. This is another detail that should alert you that there is something going on with your computer.

• Redirected Internet searches: Similarly to the previous sign, a hacked computer will most likely engage in redirected Internet searches; so, this is another thing that should alarm you.

• Random pop-ups: It is certainly not cool for you to experience sudden pop-up windows getting on your screen. Although there is a chance that these pop-ups have to do with some sort of adware, they can also be proof of hacking.

I am hacked, then now what? How should I respond?

If you believe you have been hacked, The Computer Guyz recommends you to make a move immediately. You should not shut your computer down, or even try to fix it by yourself as it could do more harm than good. Another reason you shouldn’t play with it by yourself is you might destroy the evidence that might prove valuable for the investigation. If the hacked machine has been given by your employer to you, report the attack to your company instantly.

In case you can’t get in touch with your company, or are concerned your contact to them won’t be a success sooner – disconnect your device from the Internet, put it on suspend, hibernation or sleep mode.

If you want to do it by yourself or simply have a personal computer hacked, below are the essentials steps you need to take.

• Backups: Preparing the backups ahead of time definitely is the most valuable step anyone can take. As if you want to be in a good position always for restoring your files, backing you data up on a regular basis is essential. Once you’ve been hacked the available options for you include wiping your hard drive and reinstalling your OS (operating system), or simply purchasing a new computer for you. Either way you need your backups to recover your personal data. So, either way you’d look for your backups if you want to recover your personal data – and of course, always keep backups!

• Change password: It’s simply the common sense that you should immediately change your password, as soon as you get to know you’ve been hacked. Please make sure you change all of your online passwords as well, and not just the password of your computer or mobile devices. And of course, you need to change your accounts’ passwords from another computer or mobile that you’re confident is safe and secure.

• Antivirus: If you’re among the lucky ones, your Antivirus is going to alert you about the infection somehow. In case an infected file has been reported to you by your antivirus, continue with the suggested actions there. The steps you need to take in such cases include quarantining the suspected file, cleaning or deleting the file completely. Most of the anti-virus programs will have links that you can visit to discover about the infection further. Make it your rule to quarantine any suspected file, if that’s not possible for you – delete it!

• Seek help from a professional: Lastly, if you feel like you don’t have the necessary skills set or knowledge, better take your PC to certified computer experts, such as The Computer Guyz. As proper cyber security training is very crucial to deal with such a messy stuff, the chances are if you try to transfer your personal data from infected machine to the new one, you might end up transferring the malware alongside it. So, it’s far safer to seek help from an expert technician rather than spreading the bad all over.

If you do not want to have your computer hacked and not even understand what has happened, you ought to be on alert and always remain vigilant as to the threats that are lurking in the dark.

It is in your hands to keep hackers at bay and we are certain that this is what you are going to do!