CYBERSECURITY UPDATE- How to Tell if Your Computer has been Hacked

Over the last few years police and consumer protection agencies have been warning the public about phishing emails and clicking on links of unknown organizations or businesses. The fear is that by clicking on those links that some sort of malware that can collect your personal information will be downloaded onto your computer.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell if an email is suspicious. The cautious thing to do is to avoid clicking on anything in that email. But you might click because you are in a hurry, or do not pick up on warning signs. It can happen to anyone.

So how do you know if your computer has been hacked? Here are some signs to look for.

·         You send spam to your friends in your address book. This could be because malware has been installed in your computer. Or a hacker has gained access to your email account and is using it to distribute spam. Hackers do not need malware to have access to your email address book, they can gain access over the web. Let your friends know not to click on any links to spam emails from your email address. Also, immediately change your password to your email account.

·         You have been locked out of your user accounts. Notify the online service(s) that you think you have been hacked. Immediately change your passwords. Also, run your antivirus/malware software to try to remove the malware.

·         Your antivirus software no longer works. This can be due to a technical problem or malware has disabled your antivirus software. For those who use Windows computers, Microsoft offers its free, downloadable “Safety Scanner” that you can find here:  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/products/scanner

·         Your computer has new software installed. But you do not remember installing any software or apps. The software automatically runs when you start your computer. It may hog your resources, slow down your computer and repeatedly ask permission to pass through your firewall. You can check out suspicious software by downloading Microsoft’s “Process Explorer” at this link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer.

·         Malicious pop up ads show up on your screen. Malware could have been installed in your web browser. Check to see if your browser has toolbars that you do not remember installing. Remove them then run your anti-malware software.

·         Your network activity has increased dramatically. If you get warnings from your ISP that your internet data has exceeded its limit you may have malware that is accessing the internet for its own purposes.

The easiest solution to most of these problems is to run your anti-virus/anti-malware software. You should have your antivirus set to automatically update and to run in the background. Other hacking problems may have nothing to do with malware but may have been the result of stolen personal information. In those cases, change your password to ensure that you have control over affected accounts.

Check out the following links for more information.

Windows Central:

https://www.windowscentral.com/signs-pc-hacked

Ask Leo:

https://askleo.com/why_am_i_getting_or_sending_emails_that_contain_only_a_link_or_spam_from_my_contacts/?utm_source=Buffer&utm_medium=Redirect&utm_term=4773