1. Change your password.
Most important factor you should do is to stop the hacker from getting back into your email account. Change your password to a strong password which is not related to your prior password; if your last password was joejames1, don't pick joejames2-and if your name is actually Joe James, you shouldn't have been using your name as your password in the first place.
Try by using an important sentence as the most basic of your new password. For example, "I go to the bar in the evening" turns into "Ig2tBARite" using the first letter of each word in the sentence, mixing uppercase and lowercase letters and replacing the word "to" with "2. "
2.Reclaim your account.
If you're lucky enough then the hacker only hack your account to send a mass email to all of your contacts.
If most likely not so lucky, the hacker changed your password too, locking you out of your account. In the event that's the case, you will have to reclaim your account, usually an issue of using the "forgot your password" link and answering your security questions or using your backup email address.
Check out the specific tips for reclaiming possession of your account for Gmail , Hotmail, Yahoo!and AOL .
3.Enable two-factor authentication.
Established your email account to require a second form of authentication in addition to your password when you log into your email account from a new device. At the time you log in, you'll also need to enter a special one-time use code the site will text to your phone or produced via an app.
Check out two-step authentication setup instructions for Gmail , Microsoft's Outlook. com and Hotmail , and Yahoo! .
4.Check your email settings.
Sometimes hackers might change your configurations to forward a backup of each and every email you get to themselves, so they can watch for any emails containing login information for other sites. Check your mail forwarding configurations to ensure no unpredicted email addresses have been added.
Next, check your email signature to see if the hacker added a spammy signature that will continue to peddle their dubious wares even after they've been locked out.
5. Scan your computer for malware.
Operate a full scan with your anti-malware program. You do come with an anti-malware program on your computer, right? If not, download the free version of Malwarebytes and run a full scan with it. I recommend running Malwarebytes in case you already have another anti-malware program; if the situation is malware, your original program obviously didn't stop it, and Malwarebytes has resolved problems for me personally that even Symantec's Norton Internet Security wasn't able to resolve. Scan other computers you sign in from, such as your work computer, as well.
In the event any of your scans identify malware, fix it and then return back and change your email password again (because when you changed it in step #1, the malware was still on your computer).
6.Find out what else has recently been compromised.
On of my friend have the habit of storing usernames and passwords for her various accounts in an email folder called "Sign-ups. " Once the hacker was into her email, this individual easily uncovered numerous other logins.
Most of us have emails buried somewhere that contain this type of information. Search for the word "password" in your mailbox to figure out what other accounts might have recently been compromised. Change passwords of these accounts immediately, if they include sensitive accounts such as bank accounts, look at your statements to ensure there are no suspicious orders.
I also recommend you to change other accounts passwords because Hackers are smart enough to know that the many users use the same passwords for multiple accounts, so they may try your login info in other email applications and on PayPal and other common sites.
Tell the people in your contacts list that your email was hacked and that they are not open any malicious emails or do not click on any links in any email(s) that recently received from you. Most people will probably have already figured out that you were not really the one promoting to buy Viagra from an online pharmacy in China but you know, everyone has one or two friends who are a little slower to grab on these things.
How to Prevent it from happening again?
While large-scale breaches are one way your login information could be stolen—last year, 500 million Yahoo accounts were hacked and there’s evidence the number could actually be more than 1 billion—they’re certainly not the only way. Many cases are due to careless creation or protection of login information.
Splash Data’s worst passwords reveals that people still choose common passwords and passwords based on readily available information, making their accounts hackable with a few guesses.
Selecting a strong password is your best protection against this type of hacking. It also is recommended to use a different password for each account, or, at the very least, use a unique password for your email account, your bank account and any other sensitive accounts. If you’re concerned about keeping track of your passwords, find a password manager tools that do the work for you.