how to tell if your gmail account is hacked

Telltale Signs Your Gmail is Hacked

Two Basic Signs Your Account is Hacked

1. You can’t log in, even with a password you know is valid

2. Your account is sending e-mails that you never wrote

Obvious vs. Not-so-Obvious

• Those two signs are obvious, but a savvy hacker don’t use clues, they leave clues

• They’d rather hijack your account and use it without you ever knowing it

Savvy Internet Hackers

• Serious hackers:– Rarely change your password– Don’t often send e-mail to others from your address book

• Modern hackers will hang out in your account until you get a bank statement or other sensitive data– Will use that data to steal money or information from you

Gmail Protects You

• Gmail is familiar with these hackers• They have added a third method for sniffing out e-

mail hackers: the account activity log– Located at bottom of Gmail inbox below “You’re currently

using XXXX MB (XX%) of your XXXX MB”– Bottom line displays “your last account activity”

• This reader displays the last time someone logged into your Gmail account

• If the time and data don’t match to when you last logged in, that should be a red flag for you

Take Advantage of Gmail Security

• It’s a good idea to regularly click the ‘details’ link that follows the last account activity timestamp– This prompts a chart of your last dozen Gmail logins

• Organized by login method i.e. web browser, mobile phone, POP3/IMAP

– Each login is time stamped and associated with an IP address

Finding the Hacker

• If you find a suspicious login date/time and IP address:– Copy the IP number and past it into the lookup service at

Domain Tools– You’ll then learn who owns the IP address that logged into

your account– If you find a sketchy IP address on the activity list, then it’s

a good time to change your Gmail

Always Plan for Security

• Regardless of what a hacker does on your site, you can begin protecting yourself today with both a social media backup plan and a Google Apps backup plan

• Backups prevent against any type of data loss

• Whether from Backupify or not, take control of your online life with an online backup