The most recent help I provided was to a neighbor whose email account was hacked. The most common hacked email provider is Yahoo.com emails. Other providers have also been hacked: gmail.com, hotmail.com (now outlook.com) or other free email providers.
In helping my neighbor recover her account I was unpleasantly surprised that sbcglobal.com accounts are really powered by Yahoo.com. That explains why her account was hacked.
Hackers can get your log in information from spyware or virus’ installed on your computer via following an unsafe HTML link, or opening a corrupt email.
There are a number of things you can do to prevent a hack from happening. I have included some links at the end of this post for what you can do to if you are hacked.
Change Password on a regular basis (quarterly is recommended). Use a password that contains Upper and Lower case, at least one number and preferable a special symbol to make it less easy to guess.
Export your contacts on a regular basis (quarterly is recommended and a good thing to do each time you change your password). It is best to export your contacts to a .csv (comma separate version). This allows you to easily import into most email programs. You can save in multiple formats by selecting the format you wish. This could be helpful to keep a version in the default format for your email service.
Use Virus Protection there are multiple vendors (McAfee, Norton,Trend Micro, etc..) that sell virus protection not only for your PC/Mac but also as a plug in for your web browsers and email providers. It is best to set it up so it is constantly running in the background to scan the web pages you visit, email and email content opened, and virus or spyware that may be installed on your computer. DO NOT NEGLECT Mac computers. They are just as susceptible to virus and spyware as Windows systems.I also schedule mine to run a scan every night when I am not on the computer. This help to catch anything that slipped by.
Use Auto Update Turn on your auto update feature for your operating system as well as your primary applications (MS Office, iTunes, etc..). This will keep your system up to date with the latest patches and versions. Hackers are up 24×7 coming up with new virus/spyware and the software companies are right on their heels releasing patches and updates as soon as possible. Auto Update turned on ensures you are protected.
Multi-Level Authentication is a method that requires two or more methods to confirm you are the owner of the account. In addition to your password, this could include answering security questions and or entering a code send to your secondary email or to your phone. Gmail.com provides this, however yahoo does not.
Setup Secondary email or Cell Phone for recovery purposes. Most email providers allow you to enter a secondary account or cell phone number for authentication and recovery purposes. If you have these options in the setup of your email account, use them.
LINKS TO RECOVER AFTER A HACK
CBS Top 5 Recovery Steps for a Hacked Email
What to do if your email is hacked
HOTMAIL (outlook.com) recover account
Brandon Lang (Content Creator) 