Help, I’ve Been Hacked, Now What?

Many of us have experienced the sinking feeling that comes with the realization that one (or more) of our social media profiles have been hacked. It's nothing to be ashamed of, but it can sure wreck an otherwise blissful day. 

The easiest way to get hacked is to click on a link that contains a virus allowing hackers access to your accounts. When you click on the link, you may see a message telling you the link is broken. That doesn’t mean you’ve dodged the bullet. If your firewall or virus software doesn’t catch it, you’ll still be infected. 

Some of the most common messages that spread viruses and allow hackers access are:

“Did you know your friends are spreading nasty rumors about you?” 

“This is a hilarious video of you.”

So what’s a social media professional to do, cancel all accounts and slink away in shame?

Never.

In this post I'll give you the steps to repair the damage. In the next post I'll give you some tips to keep it from happening again.

First, change your password for the social media profile that’s been compromised. 

Twitter: 

• Go to your home page and click on VIEW MY PROFILE PAGE under your name in the top left of the screen.
• Click on EDIT YOUR PROFILE.
• Then click on PASSWORD and follow the directions to change your password.

Facebook:

• Go to your home page and click on the arrow to the right of your profile name in the solid blue header.
• Click on ACCOUNT SETTINGS.
• You should land on General Account Settings. From here click PASSWORD and change your password.

Next, you need to check and make certain the damage hasn't spread. Changing your password is just the first step. For this, you’ll need to visit the app section for Twitter and Facebook. Here’s how:

Twitter:

• Go to your home page and click on VIEW MY PROFILE PAGE under your name in the top left of the screen.
• Click on EDIT YOUR PROFILE.
• Then click on APPS. Here you’ll see a list of apps that have access to your Twitter account. I recommend you revoke access to any you don’t recognize or haven’t used in a while.

Facebook:

• Go to your home page and click on the arrow to the right of your profile name in the solid blue header.
• Click on ACCOUNT SETTINGS.
• Click on APPS. Here, too, you’ll see a list of apps that have access to your Facebook account. Again, I recommend you revoke access to any you don’t recognize or haven’t used in a while.

The fear of getting hacked shouldn't keep us from exploring social networking, anymore than the fear of identity theft should keep us from using a debit or credit card. But we all need to play smart. 

How about you, have you ever been hacked? 

Don't forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie