Today's most useful Security
Tip is here..."Check if Your Gmail Account Has Been Hacked !". If
you’re worried about email security, here is a step by step guide to
help you check and determine if your Gmail account has been hacked or
compromised in any way.
Step 1: Find the ‘Last Account Activity’ Section Your Inbox
At the bottom
of your Gmail inbox there is a ‘Last Account Activity’ section. Click on ‘details’ to launch the full blown monitor.
Step 2: See who has accessed your Gmail account recently
Next, what you’ll see is a table of the most recent activity from your Gmail account. It shows you
Step 3: Understand the IP addresses – Has your Gmail really been hacked ?
If you see IP addresses from different countries, don’t be too quick to
panic. If you use any 3rd party services which hook-up to your Gmail
account, they will almost certainly show up in your activity log. To do
you own investigation, you can use DomainTools to identify the IP
address. This will help you differentiate normal activity and your Gmail
account being hacked.
http://www.domaintools.com/
Step 4: Understand the alerts – Google’s way of highlighting suspicious activity
Google will also do it’s fair share of monitoring, and will also alert
you if it sees suspicious activity both in your inbox, as well as your
recent activity log. When this happens, and the IP addresses look
suspicious, it is advisable to play it safe, assume your Gmail account
has been hacked, and change your passwords immediately.
Step 5: Sign Out All Other Sessions – If you forgot to sign out on a public computer
If you are worried you did not not sign out of a public computer, you
can ‘sign out all other sessions’. This won’t fix any hacked Gmail
accounts, but it will resolve any careless mistakes. This is also useful
if you happen to lose your mobile phone and you want to ensure your
email is not read by others.
Step 6: What to do if your Gmail account has really been hacked ?
The first thing you do is change both your password and security
question right away. Then make sure your new choices are very secure.
Google themselves have some really good tips .
For example in the case of security questions:
* Choose a question only you know the answer to – make sure the question isn’t associated with your password.
* Pick a question that can’t be answered through research (for example,
avoid your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, your first or last
name, your social security number, your phone number, your pet’s name,
etc.).
* Make sure your answer is memorable, but not easy to guess. Use an answer that is a complete sentence for even more security.
So there you have it. A step-by-step guide on fully understanding
Gmail’s account activity log, and how to check if your Gmail account has
been hacked .
