If you use your personal computer regularly, eventually you might find that it has been compromised by a hacker. Once you make this discovery, don't fret because getting rid of hackers and the malicious software they may have installed on your computer can be much easier than you think.
Protect Your Computer From Unauthorized Access
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Step 1
Check to see if your computer's firewall is activated. Select "Control Panel" by clicking on the "Start" button located at the bottom left of your screen. Once you are in the "Control Panel," click on "Windows Firewall" at the bottom of the list. Access the "Windows Firewall Setting" and on the "General" tab, select the "On" option (recommended) if the "Off" option (not recommended) is selected.
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Step 2
Open any antivirus/antispyware program that you have installed on your computer. Run the scan program and remove any flagged files that the program detects. If you do not have an antivirus/antispyware program on your computer, order or download one. McAfee, Norton and Kaspersky are three of the most popular and effective antivirus programs available today. For free antivirus and computer security programs, download the free version of Avast! or AVG antivirus software.
Step 3
Replace all of your old passwords. Make sure that your new passwords are strong, meaning that they are longer than eight characters, include a combination of both lowercase and uppercase letters and contain one or more numbers. No password, no matter how strong, is 100 percent secure. So if you find yourself under constant "attack," make sure that you change your password once every month or more.
Step 4
When you choose the security question that will give you a hint if you forget your password, make sure that the answer is as difficult to guess as possible. Do not make your hint anything that can be looked up on the Internet, such as what high school you attended or your mother's maiden name. If at all possible, make the hint completely unrelated to the actual password or something that only you would know.
Step 5
If the above-mentioned tips do not get rid of your hacker problem, there is one foolproof option left. You can reinstall your operating system, which will reset everything back to the original settings. You will need to reinstall any programs that you added to your system after your operating system has been reset. Unfortunately, any data that you have stored on your computer, such as pictures, videos and text documents, will be lost.