As seen by recent headlines, hacks and data breaches have become an unavoidable aspect of modern life.
Antimalware scanners are sometimes incorrect, especially when computer hackers have vulnerabilities that are less than 24 hours old.
The incident I would like to share is that I was hacked when I clicked on the link my friend sent me on Facebook.
Later, when I asked him, he told me, “I was hacked too.”
My account was taken over by someone for the first time and experienced how hacking works. It was scary and shocked.
I thought I would lose my account and some personal information now. But thanks to my friend, he suggested changing the password on another device and setup two factor authentication to secure my account.
Malicious viruses and computer hackers have complete control over their strategy.
Change a few bytes, and a virus software that was previously detected loses its identity. For example, black hat hackers always look for loopholes to hack organizations.
Worldwide internet users had 52 million data breaches by black hat hackers in the second quarter of 2022, which is a 56 percent decrease from the same period last year.
How would I know if I was hacked? And what to do next?
1. A ransomware message arrives.
An abrupt screen takeover informing the user that all of their data is encrypted and requesting cash to unlock it is one of the scariest messages anybody may see from black hat hackers on their computer.
Black hat hackers are installing the ransomware and are shutting down hospitals, police stations, small and major enterprises, hospitals, and entire cities.
The ransom is paid by around half of the victims to black hat hackers, making it unlikely that it will disappear very soon.
Things to do next – First, restore the affected systems and thoroughly check what computer hackers had stolen to ensure that the recovery was 100% successful if you have a decent, current, tested data backup of the afflicted systems.
2. A false antivirus notification appears.
The computer or mobile device displays a popup warning by computer hackers that it is contaminated.
The pop-up message claims to have discovered a dozen or more malware infections on your machine and poses as an antivirus scanning program.
I once experienced this scenario before I was hacked, as I was not aware of this type of computer hacker.
Computer hackers are still a problem and have to be handled properly, despite the fact that black hat hackers aren’t nearly as prevalent as they formerly were.
Things to do next- If you are lucky and computer hackers are not able to steal your data, everything will be OK if you simply shut the tab and restart the browser.
The phony message does not reappear. It was an isolated anomaly. You’ll inevitably have to shut down the browser.
3. Browser toolbars users don’t want are installed.
A typical indicator from a black hat hacker is this: Numerous new toolbars have appeared in your browser, some of which have titles that suggest they are meant to be helpful.
It’s time to remove the fake toolbar unless you can verify that it came from a reputable provider.
Things to do next – You may usually evaluate installed and active toolbars in browsers. Any that you did not wish to install, remove. Take it out if you’re unsure.
If I was hacked, I will see if the browser has a feature that allows me to restore the browser to its default settings if the fake toolbar isn’t mentioned there or if you can’t simply remove it.
4. The web searches have been forwarded.
Many black hat hackers rely on tricking users, like the way I was hacked, by redirecting them somewhere they don’t want to go for a career.
By causing clicks to appear on another website, the black hat hacker is compensated.
Things to do next – When I was hacked, I simply uninstalled the browser, If you are using a Microsoft Windows computer, examine the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts file to determine if any redirections that appear malicious have been set up by computer hackers or black hat hackers.
5. You send social media invites to your friends that you did not send.
This is one of the types of hacks I was hacked with that we have all seen before. If you have already linked friends on that social networking site, you or your friends may get invites to “be a friend.”
Your friend is getting in touch with you to ask you why you keep adding new people as friends.
In either scenario, the computer hacker is either in charge of your social media site or has built a second fake website that is remarkably similar to yours.
Things to do next- Before accepting the unexpected friend request, check if it is not by computer hackers, and let your other friends know.
Then confirm with the friend using a different method. Share the information with your personal social media networks.
6. Your password for the social sites is invalid.
If your online password isn’t functioning even if you know you’re entering it correctly, you may have been attacked by a black hat hacker.
When you are certain that your existing password is no longer functioning, it is possible that a computer hacker has used your account to log in and changed your password to prevent you from accessing the system.
This is how I was hacked in the past, and I have to quickly take action by recovering it with my email ID.
Things to do next – Inform all of your close connections right away that I was hacked and my account has been compromised if the scam is well-known and many of your acquaintances have been contacted.
This will save them from black hat hackers.
Watch out for these typical “I was hacked” signs and what to do next to save yourself from black hat hackers if the computer has been hacked, security solutions like Acronis Cyber Protect from Exabytes can save you from computer hackers.
Find out more about Acronis Cyber Protect from Exabytes experts. Contact us now for a free consultation call.
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