What to Do After Getting Hacked | Follow These Six Steps Quickly

There are many ways to prevent getting hacked, from stronger passwords to using the right VPNs to protect your devices. However, just because you protect yourself doesn’t mean you’re unhackable. Sure it’s a great idea to make it harder for people to hack you, but there’s almost always a loophole.

The good news is that, unless you’re pretty popular, you’re not necessarily a big target for cyber attacks. The bad news is that it still may happen.

So you just got hacked, now what? There are many things you need to do. Here are a few steps you should take right now.

Reset All of Your Passwords

If you’re like most people, chances are you use the same password on many different platforms. And if someone managed to get into one of your accounts, they might try to access other accounts as well.

One of the first things you need to do is make sure you change all your passwords as soon as you noticed you’ve been hacked. That way, your other accounts won’t be compromised, and you’ll manage to reduce the possible damage.

Most platforms have the option to sign out of the account on all other devices, so make sure to use this as well.

Control the Damage

Did the hacker use your account to withdraw money? Did they write something awful on your profile? Did they DM your crush? You need to check your profile on the platforms that they got into and do some damage control ASAP.

Delete any comments or changes they might have done or call your bank if necessary. But hey, at least you have a good reason to finally talk to your crush.

Contact Your Friends and Family

If you got hacked, that means your personal information was compromised. Unfortunately, that might not only affect you but your loved ones as well. If someone got a hold of your personal information, they might try to call your relatives to try to scam them.

For instance, they can call and say you got into an accident and that they need them to deposit some money to help you. These people are pretty clever, and that’s why you need to be one step ahead and talk to your closest friends and family about this.

Tell them that you got hacked, and ask them to contact you first if they receive some news or information about you to make sure it’s real or not.

The same goes for your boss and coworkers. If the hackers entered something like your work email account, you’d also need to let them know in case the hacker tries something awful.

Scan Your Computer

There’s a reason why you got hacked and it might be right on your computer. Malware opens a back door for cybercriminals to enter your computer without you even knowing about it. And that includes your Mac.

There are many different ways to keep your Mac safe from viruses and hackers, but after the fact, you might want to run an antivirus to make sure there’s no malicious software on your computer. 

If you want to take it one step further, you can even reset your computer to be 100% sure there’s no virus in it, but an antivirus should be more than enough. However, if you’re going to do this, make sure you back up all your important files first.

Set Up Your Account the Right Way

After you’ve dealt with all the possible damage, it’s time to secure your accounts the right way. Create strong, long passwords and try to use different ones on each platform you use. At least use a different password for your most important accounts, like your online bank account.

Consider using two-step verification to make your accounts even more secure. That way, someone will need to enter a special code that only you’ll receive on your iPhone or email. Not only will your account be more secure, but you’ll also know right away if someone is trying to access your account.

Protect Yourself, for Real This Time

Nothing is unhackable most of the time, but that doesn’t mean you need to make it easier for hackers to get into your Mac. Protect yourself and your information. Use a strong VPN service to make it harder to access your information. We recommend you try NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or Surfshark. All of these are great and will help protect your data. Get Surfshark for just $2.49 per month, here.

Avoid scammy calls, links, and websites that probably have a virus. And getting an antivirus or setting up your Mac’s Firewall always helps too.

There are many ways to keep your computers and accounts safe to make sure this incident doesn’t happen again.