Anyone who is connected to the Internet, and especially those who have online accounts such as social networking or email, could get compromised or ‘hacked’. The faster you respond to a successful attack, the faster you can minimize the damage.
How does an attacker get your password?
- From ‘phishing’ sites where you unintentionally gave your credentials
- From infected free software that you have installed on your computer
- Your online security is weak
- Your password is easy to guess
How do I know if my online account has been compromised?
- Your browser redirects you to a website that you don’t want to go to
- There are suspicious accounts added to your system
- There are suspicious programs installed on your computer
- Your password can no longer work
- Your account is locked without your knowledge
- There are posts you never made which appear on your social network account
- Your friends receive email from you which you never sent
- You notice unauthorized transactions on your bank account
What can I do if my online account has been compromised?
- Report the incident immediately to the website owner
- Change your passwords
- Make sure to clean your computer before resetting your passwords
How can I protect myself?
- Check for system updates and install patches regularly to prevent any weaknesses in your system
- Always turn on your firewall and patch it regularly
- Keep your antivirus software and virus definitions up-to-date
- Scan your system for malware
- Use a different password for each of your accounts
- Keep your account information details safe, such as your username and password
- Make sure your passwords are long and hard to guess, but easy for you to memorize
- Delete all unwanted emails from your email accounts
- If a website offers ‘2-step verification’ settings, please allow it to do so. This will prevent an attacker from hacking into your account
