In an event where hackers or scammers were successful with getting into your computer, there are cursory signs you would find. However, these signs are crucial in the bid to take back control of your computer. Geekever discusses in this post highlights How To Know If Your Computer Is Hacked and 5 of the most obvious signs that your computer has been hacked.
It’s no surprise that everyone uses a computer these days. It’s the computer age, and computers are key to achieving the global connectivity we hope for. However, one of the prices to pay for that connectivity is that you are never truly alone on the internet.
This means that other people can interact with you, and then shady characters would try to have a go at you.
Normally, they take the route of taking over your computer, either to get you to pay some money or steal things on it.
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How To Know If Your Computer Is Hacked – 5 Signs To Watch
1. You will begin to see persistent pop-ups
One of the most simple signs for How To Know If Your Computer Is Hacked, is that you will get unrelated popups on your PC or Laptop. Perhaps the most obvious way to know when your laptop hacked is by observing how it behaves when connected to the internet. For example, pop-up ads are fine if you seldom see them from web pages. However, getting persistent pop-ups even when not in a browser environment is a sign of a computer breach.
It is common for malware to behave that way when they are in a host computer. The next line of action is to try to find the source of the attack. A good place to start is by uninstalling the most recent application to see if the ads would stop.
2. Your Computer begins to slow down and crash
Slowdowns in a computer might mean that it is getting and due for a change. However, if your computer has never had a history of stuttering on you, you should pay close attention to it if it starts doing that all of a sudden.
Malware is the most likely culprit in the case as well. It could be that someone has gained access to your computer, and is remotely using its resources. The next logical thing to do is try to salvage the data you have on the computer. Back up and clear up.
If you had a cybersecurity software installed previously, now is the time to use it. The application would help you find the root of the attack, and eliminate it. It is the best you can do to avoid someone else taking over your computer.
3. You will notice new programs on your computer
This is another obvious sign that your computer has been taken over. If you begin to find new programs, with strange names on your computer, you are most likely a victim of a hack attack.
Trojans behave that way, installing a plethora of third-party programs. It could be worse if you have internet access, and the hacker could keep bombarding your computer with downloaded programs.
Cybersecurity softwares could bail you out of this kind of fix. If it has gotten to a late stage, a cybersecurity software is all you’ve got.
4. You will discover that your passwords no longer work – Signs Your Computer Has Been Hacked
A sign of a complete hack of your computer is that you no longer have access to it. Your login password no longer work, because someone has changed it. In other situations, it could be some of the accounts and passwords you have locked away with a password.
You should kick into action the moment you find out your password no longer works. Call friends and companies that have your email or whatever account that has been breached. Notifying people would not allow the hacker take decisions on your behalf, which can be disastrous.
5. You will find numerous outgoing emails from your account
This one is an old trick in the book. It is a sign that a hacker has gotten hold of your email account, and is trying to steal data from it.
Ransomware is mostly responsible for the behavior. The hacker uses it to send persistent and voluminous emails to other contacts of yours. You would be required to pay some money (Ransome) in order to get the account back and make the messages stop.
Conclusion
There are an awful lot of ways hackers can try to take hold of your computer. Since they are not exactly dumb, they do have a number of successful attempts.
If you think you have been a victim of an attempted hack on your computer, the above guides are some of the ways you can tell. Also, if you’re convinced that it is indeed a hack, you need to be quick to action, in order not to lose too much valuable data.
Other than that, it’s in your best interest to begin to invest in some preventive measures. These includes backing up your computer often, and installing a very powerful cybersecurity software.