If you suddenly discover that there is unusual activity in your Hotmail account, it is possible your account has been hacked. This can be a scary experience, especially if you have sensitive information in your inbox. It is time to act quickly…
After gaining unauthorised access to someone’s account, hackers start deleting emails, sending emails to other people, and practically ruining your account.
Quick-It-Help.com have written below the steps you need to take to secure your Hotmail and regain access to the account.
Regain Control of Your Hotmail Account
The first thing you need to do is contact the email service support desk. The staff you speak with will ask some questions to verify that you are the original owner of the account.
Next, it is time to check your antivirus or malware, because it may not be working. This can happen when the software subscription has expired. Without protection, hackers can easily gain unauthorized access to your account and cause problems.
If your antivirus or malware is expired or not functioning, please have it checked quickly and restored. Once this is done, verify that your computer is protected and scan the system.
Scan Your Computer
It is important to scan your computer (here) because the hackers may have introduced and installed a virus or malware on your computer that copies your data. This means that when you are online, the hackers can access your computer remotely. A good malware or antivirus program will detect the presence of malware or viruses and remove them. Which offers good advice.
Change Your Password
After scanning your computer and you are sure it is free from viruses or malware, please proceed to change your password (tips at – https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-how-to-how-to-choose-a-secure-password.html). This time ensure you use a strong password. You should consider creating an alphanumeric password. This is a combination of letters and numbers. Alphanumeric passwords offer more protection for computers and smartphones because they are difficult to guess.
On the other hand, if you have been locked out of your Hotmail account by the hacker, you need to reset your password. This can be done from the login page, click on “Reset Password”, and you will be redirected to your email where instructions to reset your password are sent.
Recovering Your Data
If you notice that some important emails have been deleted from your account, there are ways to recover this data. The customer support staff at Hotmail can help. Your deleted emails will be retrieved from the email providers’ servers and restored.
Here are a few tips to prevent hackers from gaining access to your Hotmail in the future…
Change Your Passwords Frequently
It is good practice to change your passwords often, according to LastPass.com. This makes it difficult for hackers to gain unauthorized access and keeps your email account safe.
Don’t Open Strange Emails
Hackers send different emails to victims. If these emails are opened, a virus can take over the victim’s computer. So, it is best to ignore and delete strange emails.
Renew Antivirus Subscriptions
Always ensure the antivirus software on your computer is active, and set reminders to renew your subscription before it expires to keep your computer protected.