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Data leaks and stolen passwords: how to tell if you’ve been hacked

Data leaks and stolen passwords: how to tell if you’ve been hacked

Huge data sets with login information appear again and again in the network. The users ask themselves the question: Was I also hacked? We explain how you can recognize this with little effort – and how you then have to proceed.

Have i been hacked? Internet users ask themselves this question whenever a huge data set with hundreds of millions of e-mail addresses and passwords has surfaced on the Internet. The answer is unfortunately not as easy to find out as one would wish. The problem: Hackers have a great interest in not being discovered by you – and camouflage themselves accordingly. Still, there are some good pointers and clear warning signs. Here’s how to spot them.

Are my accounts safe?

How data leaks often occur nowadays can be seen well with the example of the data collection “Collection # 1”, which emerged in early 2019. The almost 773 million different e-mail addresses and over 21 million different passwords that can be read in plain text, which are collected in them, probably come from many individual data thefts and thousands of different sources, wrote the Australian IT security expert Troy Hunt. The collection first appeared on the Mega cloud platform, where it has since been deleted, according to media reports. How up-to-date the data set is was initially unclear.

It takes little effort to find out whether you, too, have been the victim of a known data hack. Several sites offer databases in which you can find out after entering your own e-mail whether your own data was stolen from one of the big hacks. Don’t worry: all four pages come from reputable services, such as the Hasso Plattner Institute.

Warning signal: log-ins from other computers

Many services warn their users if they suddenly log in from unknown devices or from unusual locations. Be sure to take these warnings seriously! If you are actually not responsible for logging in, go to the relevant page as quickly as possible and change your password. Go directly to the page, to be on the safe side do not click on any links in the emails. After all, it could also be a phishing attempt. Activate two-factor authentication for all services that allow this to prevent takeovers. This may be more uncomfortable in everyday life, but it’s definitely worth the additional security.

Warning signal: friends are receiving unusual messages from you

If friends and acquaintances contact you because they have received strange messages from you via email or Facebook, you should pay attention. It is possible that your accounts have been hijacked and used to send spam or rip-off messages. However, there may also be something else behind it: Mail senders can be falsified, and on Facebook there are repeated attacks via copied profiles. To be on the safe side, you should change your passwords anyway.

Warning signal: the computer is acting independently

If the mouse pointer suddenly moves on your PC, software or apps appear on their own and you are constantly directed to websites that you did not want to go to, something is probably wrong. The best thing to do is to disconnect from the Internet and run an antivirus and adware program on your computer or smartphone. AV-Test recommends programs from Kaspersky, Sophos and Symantec for both Windows and Android. Should the phenomenon persist after this, you should consider visiting an expert. If all data is backed up, reinstalling the system is a simple and safe solution. .

Reminders and looted accounts

As soon as reminders for products that have not been ordered land in the mailbox or the account has been emptied, it is too late: the stolen data has already been used. File a complaint immediately and contact the dealers and the bank. Change all passwords for the affected services.

In this text, you will learn how to better protect your data in general and thus prevent attacks.

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