How to Recover Hacked Gmail Account and Secure It?
Gmail is undoubtedly one of the most used services, which many people use daily for work and personal communication. But if a hacker invades your account and prevents you from sending and receiving emails, it can turn out to be a very frustrating situation. Trapped in such a scenario, you will naturally wonder how to recover hacked Gmail account? The problem is quite common but can become a serious one if you exchange information related to your bank statements and bills. But don’t think that there’s no way out. In this article, we’ll tell you how to restore a compromised Gmail account safely.
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Steps to Fix the Gmail Hacked Problem
This is for those who find their Gmail account hacked. In such a situation, you need to take action immediately. The more you delay it, the more information the hacker will take from your account.
1. Modify the Password
Often, hackers don’t change the account password. It’s a good thing for you as you can still use your old password and access your account. At this point, you shouldn’t waste any time making another, stronger password. It will hinder the hacker from accessing your account by modifying your old password.
2. Employ the Lost Password Tool
If you find your password changed, there’s another way to recover your hacked Gmail account. But for it to work, the hacker shouldn’t have changed the password of your secondary email. If they haven’t, you can use the lost password tool to request a password change.
Sign in to your mail and tap the ‘Forgot Password’ link. Adhere to the prompts onscreen to get another password in your secondary email address. You can then sign in and reset that password to something else.
3. Employ the Account Recovery Tool
You will surely question how to recover hacked Gmail account if the hacker has altered your password. In this case, the attacker has tried to lock you out of your Gmail account. You cannot employ the above-mentioned fixes to restore your account. But don’t think that you’ve totally lost any access to your account.
Just navigate to the ‘Account Recovery’ page of Google. There you will need to enter your email or phone number and follow a series of steps to retrieve your account. Ensure that you do remember the password that you used before your account got compromised. It will be needed when you are on this page.
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Measures to Take to Secure Your Gmail Account
You must take more security measures after finding your Gmail account hacked and retrieving the password. These steps will secure your account and prevent any further instances of hacking.
1. Enable 2-Step Verification
The 2-step verification keeps hackers far away from your account. With it, you log in using your password and your phone or a code. So, even if your password gets stolen, your Google account remains safe. Here are the steps to activate 2-step verification.
- Firstly, open your Gmail account.
- Now choose ‘Security.’
- Choose ‘2-Step Verification’ below ‘Signing in to Google.’ Now select ‘Get Started.’
- Follow the pointers on your screen.
- After doing so, you’ll need to verify your identity when signing in.
- Google requests you to verify your identity by giving you certain prompts or push notifications from the device (computer, Android, or iPhone) you are signing in.
2. Remove Irrelevant Pop-ups and Ads
Another crucial step after your account has been hacked is to review your account for suspicious activity. If there’s such an activity, you must remove harmful software. In its place, install good antivirus software.
A wise move will be to remove unwanted pop-ups and ads. You can find if you have installed such software or malware on your system if you notice the following:
- The homepage of your browser changes without your permission.
- In the Chrome browser, you find toolbars or extensions that you don’t need.
- There are some new tabs and pop-up ads that don’t leave the browser.
- You are getting directed to unfamiliar pages.
- You get repeated alerts about an infected device or malware.
To avoid all this, only download files you know are fully secure.
3. Use Password Alert
In Google Chrome, the Password Alert notifies you when you input your password on a non-Google site. It allows you to know if a website is pretending to be Google or trying to steal your password.
You must use Password Alert to prevent phishing and keep your account safe. Upon adding it to the Chrome browser, you’ll get automated alerts about when your Google password is employed to log into non-Google sites. Follow these steps to enable Password Alert.
- Navigate to Google Chrome and log in to your Gmail account.
- Now, head over to Chrome’s store. Here, download Password Alert.
- Follow all the instructions you see on your screen.
- Now, log into your Gmail account. Note that, as it’s a Google tool, it only works with the Chrome browser.
4. Remember to Create a Complex Password
You found your Gmail account hacked because of a weak password or a database violation that leaked your credentials. So, it necessitates you to create a complex password and secure your account completely. When you follow the different steps mentioned in this article and recover your hacked Gmail account, you must modify your password and keep it distinct at all costs.
It’s a good practice to use a password that you cannot find anywhere on the web. However, remember to make the password in a manner that you can remember it. Do not create an extremely complicated password that you don’t remember. You will only find it difficult to type it every time you log into your Gmail account. It must have a good mix of special characters, lower case and upper-case letters, and numbers.
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Final Thoughts
After going through this article, you won’t question how to recover hacked Gmail account. The stepwise instructions in the instance of your Gmail getting hacked and the additional security measures listed here will prove very helpful. If you need more help with recovering a hacked email account, its best to connect with expert email support services