#WOOZWORLD ACCOUNTS AND PASSWORDS 2016 PASSWORD#

Whether you were hacked, phished, had malware installed or just don't know what the heck happened but there's somebody all up in your e-mail, here are a few good first steps to take following an incident. This is by no means comprehensive, but it’s a good start.Īsk Yourself Why While you are fixing things, it's a good time to take a step back, and ask yourself a more basic question: What was the reason for the breach? If it was your bank account, the answer may be obvious.

#WOOZWORLD ACCOUNTS AND PASSWORDS 2016 PASSWORD#

In other cases, such as e-mail, it can be for a host of reasons - from using it to send spam, to requesting money from your contacts, to getting password resets on other services. An attacker may even be trying to gain access to your business. Knowing why you were targeted can also sometimes help you understand how you were breached. Reset Your Passwords Immediately change the password on the affected service, and any others that use the same or similar password.

You should be changing your passwords periodically anyway as a part of routine maintenance. But if you've just been hacked, it's now more urgent. This is especially true if you reuse passwords, or use schemes that result in similar passwords (like 123Facebook, 123Linkedin, 123Google).

'Password reuse is one of the great evils and its very hard to prevent,' says PayPal's principal scientist for consumer security Markus Jakobsson. Sites can set up password requirements - for example a character length or that a password include symbols and numbers - but they cannot force people into not reusing the same or similar passwords. 'It's very common for people to use similar or the same password but it's very rare for people to realize that it creates a liability for them to do it and that they need to change their password after they've been hacked.'Ĭheck for Backdoors Smart hackers won’t just get into your account, they’ll also set up tools to make sure they can get back in once you’ve gotten them out. Once you have your accounts back, you should immediately make sure there isn't a back door somewhere designed to let an attacker back in. Check your e-mail rules and filters to make sure nothing is getting forwarded to another account without your knowledge. See if the answers to your security questions were changed, or if those questions themselves have changed.įollow the Money If there is an element of commerce involved in the affected account, thoroughly review any activity on that account. Verify that no new shipping addresses have been set up on your account, no new payment methods have been added, or new accounts linked. This is especially true of sites that let you make one-click purchases, or issue payment cards. 'Attackers do things for a reason,' says Jakobsson. 'If we are talking about attacking your Bank of America account or PayPal the reason is obvious: They want your money. If they add an address and then request a financial instrument, that is a way for them to monetize.' What criminals will often want to do is hook up a debit card to your account.

Woozworld accounts and passwords 2016