11 signs your computer or smartphone has been hacked

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How to recognize someone else's interference in the operation of your gadget and secure your data.

1. Unexplained write-offs

The first thing that might make you think about a possible hack is sudden write-offs of funds that you have nothing to do with. This is a clear sign that fraudsters could gain access to your card information or have "hijacked" the account of one of the payment services you are using.

If your balance is always at hand, you will quickly notice suspicious activity. If you rarely check your account and you don't even have an SMS or email alert connected, it's time to do it.

Messages with codes for confirmation of purchases, which, of course, you did not make, should also not be ignored in any case. Regardless of whether you know the sender or not, you must immediately block the card and contact the bank.

2. Slowdown of the device

A malware that has infiltrated your computer or smartphone can require a lot of processing power. Therefore, if you notice a decrease in performance, which is significant, unexpected and long-term, you must immediately check the device for viruses and limit any network activity for this period. If no threats were detected, perhaps the reason for the slowdown lies elsewhere.

3. Disabling or interruptions in the work of security programs

If malware has made its way into the system and has managed to take root, it is possible that it will try to close or isolate all the means of protection that are dangerous to it. A reason to sound the alarm is an involuntary shutdown of the antivirus or the inability to start a computer scan on demand. This situation can be avoided by constantly updating the anti-virus databases and downloading applications only from trusted sources.

4. Change software or browser settings without your participation

If the protection of your device missed at least one malware, then soon there may be much more of them. A threat rooted on a PC can initiate the download of additional attackers' tools, which can be represented by both additional software and browser extensions.

You can check which software is active at the time the computer is running using the "Task Manager" on Windows (called by the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Del) and "System Monitor" on macOS (found in the list of "Utilities" or "Programs"). In the browser you are using, you need to open a list of all extensions and similarly check what is installed and what starts automatically.

5. Increase in the number of pop-ups

Through the browser and some other applications, malware can bombard you with pop-up windows about the need to scan your computer or check your account information. These windows often look quite authentic and do not arouse suspicion, but if they began to appear much more often than before, then this is a reason to think.

Nowadays modern browsers and operating systems in general do an excellent job of dealing with annoying pop-ups, but there is still a possibility that the initiator of the display of the next window or banner is a malware that has sneaked onto the PC.

6. Changes in system settings

Malware can alter system settings as well. A classic example is changing the home page of your browser or search engine. Seeing a completely new and at the same time rather dubious page when loading the same Chrome or Firefox, of course, you should not follow the links on it.

It is especially important to keep an eye on requests to change system settings and granting permissions to new programs. The latter is very important in the case of smartphones, where seemingly elementary applications may require a whole list of rights to access the bowels of the gadget.

7. Uncontrolled device activity

If at times it seems to you that your computer or smartphone has a life of its own, then it is likely that someone is controlling it remotely. This is done through a backdoor application that you may have downloaded along with the recently downloaded content.

Such remote access can be tracked by the device's involuntary waking from sleep mode, sudden hard disk activity while the PC is idle, and even in the spontaneous movement of the mouse cursor. Fortunately, lately such impudent hacks are extremely rare, especially if you use exclusively licensed software.

8. Sudden shutdowns and reboots

In addition to activity inside the system, malware can cause a sudden shutdown or restart of a device. This may well indicate partial control over the PC and attempts to destabilize the system.

You should only panic here when such outages have become more frequent and there were no prerequisites for this: you do not overload the PC with demanding games and control the heating. In such cases, again, it is worth checking the active processes in the "Task Manager" and especially autorun.

9. Sending messages without your knowledge

If they gain access to your mail, attackers will try to spread their tentacles as much as possible. Spamming on your behalf is the first thing to look out for. Check not only new mail every day, but also your sent emails folder. Having noticed something suspicious, hurry up to change the password for this account, and it is better to do it through another device.

10. Suspicious online activity

You can become a source of spam not only in mail, but also on social networks. Moreover, cybercriminals usually do not limit themselves to sending messages. If this is, for example, Twitter, a lot of new subscriptions and comments under other people's posts can talk about hacking an account. And the trouble is that all this can only be revealed after some time, when your account has already been used to the maximum.

You can protect yourself from this only with the help of vigilance, that is, periodic checking of the main actions in each specific network. If you find dubious messages and comments that you could not leave even drunk, be sure to change the password using another device.

11. Denial of access to your accounts

If, when logging into one of the services, your standard password suddenly did not fit, then, probably, the attackers, having gained access to your account, managed to change it. In the case of a large service or social network, you should not panic. You can be helped by a form for recovering and changing your password via mail or by contacting technical support directly.

To increase the level of protection for all your accounts and social networks, you need to use two-factor authentication.

Outcome

Even if you think that the danger has passed and the account data has not suffered, it is definitely worth playing it safe. Again, it always makes sense to periodically update the passwords of your accounts, especially if the same password is used in several services.

If any of the online accounts has been hacked, immediately report it to technical support. Even if you easily regained access, it is still worth doing it, because you do not know where the "hijacked" account was used.

On your PC, be sure to install a reliable antivirus with fresh databases, or at least systematically check the system with lightweight portable options. If for some reason it is not possible to install or run such software on an infected computer, you must download the program through another device and then try to copy it.

It is possible that a system reset may be required for a complete recovery. In this case, you need to take care of backing up your important data. Fortunately, it can now be done on any device, regardless of OS.