How to Deal With Hacking

Hacking is possible directly from your computer--so it is important to consistently update security software.

Whether your website has recently been hacked or your email has been compromised, dealing with the after-effects of a hack is at times frustrating and emotionally draining. Dealing with hacking varies on the severity of each individual issue along with your current available resources from your website's host or hacked account's company.

Instructions

1. 

   Without proper security, websites and accounts are vulnerable to hacking attempts.

   Assess the current hacking situation and gather all of the important details related to the incident. Write a list of when the hacking occurred (with an estimate time and date) along with the systems that are compromised or out of your control at the moment (including the website URL or email address and password hacked). Write down additional user accounts and names from various websites with the same password. This will give you a visual of the compromised accounts and the accounts on which you need to update security.

2. 

   Updating your passwords frequently will keep hackers out of your personal business.

   Change all of your account passwords for your bank and any other accounts that may be linked with the compromised account or email address. If you have additional web pages with log-in information, change the passwords immediately to avoid additional website hijacking.

3. 

   Companies sometimes have the ability to restore accounts for longtime, verifiable customers.

   Contact your website's host or account provider to inform the company of the hack in order to verify your own identity in the process of regaining access to your site. Most web hosts will have the ability to take control of the website upon confirming who you are by contacting them directly or by submitting a "Support Ticket" from the website host's official website.

4. 

   Delete and remove any files that look unfamiliar or suspicious in your recovered hacked account.

   Check your website's files for unwanted code or spam that has been implemented by the hackers once you have regained access to your website. If you regain access to your email account, send an email to your contacts informing them of the hack (in case spam or other scam emails were sent by the hacker on your behalf).

5. 

   Creating a new email address or account will break any connection to your old hacked account.

   Create a new email account or change your web host account name and password entirely to keep the same hacker from attempting to hijack your accounts again. Back up all data, including important emails and documents to keep safely on an external hard drive in case of a hack or loss of information.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a variety of characters when creating a password, including uppercase characters, numbers and symbols (if possible).

References

• Submit Edge: Dealing With Website Hacking
• Microsoft: TechNet: Help: I Got Hacked. Now What Do I Do?

Resources

• Happy Hacker: The Happy Hacker: The web site computer criminals don't want you to read!