Following the revelation that the computers of numerous accountants were hacked by criminal gangs, the security of your computer on the Internet is once again being scrutinised.
As the number of people using the Internet grows, so does the likelihood of your computer being hacked. There is a lot of file sharing and web surfing going on, which leaves your computer open to assault. However, if your computer is hacked, this guide will assist you in determining what steps to follow.
How to Find if Your Computer is Hacked?
It’s critical to distinguish between when your computer has been hacked and when it’s simply acting strangely.
Sometimes the hacker would simply leave a letter or a warning to establish that your computer has been compromised.
You can’t get into your numerous emails and social media accounts, and in the worst-case scenario, you can’t even get into your computer.
Steps to Take if Your Computer Gets Hacked:
1. Check the Impact of Damage
After using your computer for a while, you’ll be able to tell if you’re dealing with malware, virus, trojan, keylogger (spyware), or something else. If a keylogger program has been installed, you can remove it with a reputable antispyware program.
If the infection is severe, though, formatting the hard disk is a preferable alternative.
Before formatting your computer, you should strive to back up all of your essential and secret files.
2. Damage Control
Antivirus programs should be used to determine the amount of the harm. Users of the Windows operating system can run “Malware bytes,” which is freely available and recognizes a variety of malicious apps that antivirus software cannot. Sophos Mac antivirus is a free antivirus program for Mac users.
3. Removal
After multiple scans, you will be able to determine the amount of the damage. After you’ve made a list of the viruses and malware that have infected your computer, the following step is to determine the extent of the damage.
To do so, look into the specifics of those viruses and malware programs to see how they rank in terms of the potential damage they might cause to your computer. You must do your searches on a non-hacked device and look for removal tools for the malware apps that have infected your computer.
Unfortunately, if you are unable to clean your computer after multiple attempts, your only alternative is to reinstall your operating system.
4. Offline Hacking
Although the Internet is the most popular method of hacking a computer, anyone with a USB device can potentially hack your system. In this situation, too, the infection eradication procedure is the same. Password-protecting your computer’s operating system and BIOS is the best way to avoid such problems. Anyone attempting to gain access to your computer will have a difficult time doing so.
- The greatest thing you can do is use completely updated antivirus software and a robust firewall to secure your machine. It’s also a good idea to have a registry protection tool.
- You can use encryption tools to encrypt the data on your hard disk to secure your files. Because there is no way to prevent hacking that is 100 percent foolproof, it is always advisable to take preventative steps.
