7 Signs Your Computer Has Been Hacked

Living in today’s digital world has its benefits and risks. Hackers accessing your computer and your smartphone is one of them. Hackers can install spyware, for instance, in your computer, and it gathers information from your computer, usually credit card, passwords, system files, and financial information, in extreme cases, screen capture. Because of this, it is vital to stay alert about what is happening on your device. To prevent hackers, use reputable antimalware, stream on legit sites, such as 1337x, use strong passwords, and do not open suspicious links, among others. Below are some of the signs to show you may be a hacking victim, and you may not be aware of it.

1. Your webcam randomly starts recording

In a situation where your webcam or microphone turns on itself, it is a sign of infection. And this is not for the hackers to see you in an uncompromising position. It is to catch the various passwords as you type them. Also, if you detect unknown sending and receiving lights, it is a warning indication someone is controlling your computer. You can notice this warning, especially if your computer is idle. So learn to block emails, especially spam mail, to protect your device.

• The computer starts running slower

Is your computer taking forever to open or turn on applications? It may have a malware infection. For this to happen, the malware consumes a lot of the CPUs resources. As a result, it overloads your computer, resulting in making it run slower. But, computers can also be slow because of other reasons this is just one of them. For instance, if you have a full hard disk, lack of maintenance, and more. Therefore, it is not definite it has a bug or is hacked.

• Websites stop responding

Not just one or two websites but multiple ones of various content can stop responding suddenly if your computer is hacked. Plus, if you are at work and your colleagues in the same network are not experiencing the same and are accessing the same sites, it is a sign something is wrong with your computer. In this case, have a professional technician have a look at it to get further advice.

• Your home page is different

Everyone who constantly uses their computer has a homepage their computer takes them to when they open their browser. If it is an unfamiliar page, you may be a hacking victim. Another sign of spyware is if you type a search term and a different browser pops up with a list of website results for your search. So, if you realize your browser settings are modified, and you cannot change the settings, it is a warning sign too.

• You start seeing more pop-up ads

If you suddenly have browser plug-ins or add-ins you did not install, your computer may be infected. Also, you can tell you are hacked if your web seems to be full of pop-up advertisements. Sometimes signs of potential malware are mysterious tools or files appearing on your toolbars or computer that you did not install. In other cases, people find their antivirus software is unresponsive to some system tools that are not working.

• Your apps act up

An approach hackers use to collect data is injecting attacker code to the targets application. The result is your apps run slowly or frequently crash. In some cases, an antivirus warning can pop up. In such a case, do not ignore it or presume it has removed the virus. Therefore, if you see malware detection, it does not delete the virus but lets you know you have a possible malware issue.

• Your fans go into hyper speed

Always pay attention to the battery life and physical temperature of the machine. In this way, it is a simple way to know if your mobile device has spyware or other viruses consuming processing power. For this reason, if you need to charge your phone three or more times in a day, the fan is running more than half the time. If it is always hot in your handbag or pocket, it is a sign malware is running a high amount of CPU power.