Despite how cyber conscious you are, there may be times when you get hacked owing to some little mistakes.
An unsuspected mistake of allowing your WhatsApp or Telegram to auto-download images or attachments might make you susceptible to hacks or breaches without you knowing.
Remember, it is not even a question of whether we will get hacked or not; rather, it a question of when and how often it will happen.
Being able to identify breaches early when they happen helps us to kick hackers out of our system fast or limit their access once we notice their presence.
Detecting that we have been hacked is not all that easy depending on the type of breach it is.
We have breaches that are easy to detect and those that are not.
The easiest breach to detect is an Overt breach. These are breaches where the hacker announces their presence like in ransomware, or one in which the hacker’s activity prevent us access to our system or online account or defaces our website.
The most difficult breach to detect is Covert breaches. These are those kinds of breaches where the attacker doesn’t announce their presence. It is left for the device or account owner to discover such a breach through the breach symptoms.
Important Point to Note Before You Continue Reading
In this post, we will focus more on symptoms that will help us detect covert breaches. But before that, there are some vital points I will like us to note.
Always remember that there are bogus overt breaches out there. Sometimes you will receive a fake ransomware or malware attack alert on your device.
In such times, you will see a bogus pop-up on your system, phone, or a website you visit requesting you to click on a link, pay a ransom or download an antivirus because your system or phone is under a ransomware attack, infected with malware, or has been hacked.
Whenever you see such an alert instead of reacting to it, it is advisable you contact a cybersecurity expert.
Another thing you should note is that most of the symptoms we will be used to detect covert breaches are not always a guarantee that your system is under an attack. There are some exceptions. Sometimes you might be experiencing some of the symptoms due to a new application you downloaded or an update you made or a hardware malfunction. Always remember this as you read.
How to Detect Covert Breaches
Covert breaches are the most difficult kind of breach to detect. Observation is the key to detecting these kinds of breaches.
It takes a person who understands the sound of his car engine when it is in its healthy state to detect the fault in it when the sound changes.
In the same way, it takes someone who understands the state and performance of his or her system, phone, or website to detect when things go amiss.
If you don’t observe well the state of your system performance, firewall settings, or application settings when things are in place, it will be difficult for you to notice symptoms of breaches when they occur.
So, observation is the key. Always take note of the state of things on your device or networks when nothing is amiss.
20 Signs that You have been Hacked
1.New software application gets installed on your device that you didn’t install
Whenever you notice that a new app appears on your phone or computer that you or your partner didn’t install, this is in the case of a shared system or phone. Then there is a tendency that you have been infected with malware.
Remember also that there are times when software downloads introduce other apps to the device as a supporting app. But if that is not the case, then you have been hacked.
2.Your device’s battery seems to drain more faster than before
If your device battery starts draining faster than before, there is a possibility that there is malware draining your device battery life which is running in your device background.
In case there is an app you installed last before the fast battery drain started or a setting you changed; it is advisable you revert the process to see if they are the cause. If not, then there is a tendency that you have been infected with malware.
3. An increased data consumption
When you discover a sudden increase in data usage figures on your phone, It is a sign that malware is transmitting data out of your device.
You can also check the data usage rate of each app installed on your device to detect which one that is using a greater percentage of your data. You can uninstall the app and install it again from a trusted vendor app store.
4.Your device seems to run hotter than before
Malware running on the background might labor your processor, thereby causing your device to run hotter than before.
5.Security programs have turned off
If you discover that the security application on your devices that was on before suddenly become off and you didn’t turn it off yourself; that means a hacker has penetrated your system and have turned your security tools off.
6. Unusual open ports
Whenever you discover a suspicious open port make sure you trace it using the Process ID to know if it is malware. You get the PID using the netstat -abo command on your terminal or command prompt.
Related Post: Are You Sure Your Computer is Not Hacked? How to Check If You are Hacked
7.Your device starts crashing
Your device crashing frequently as never before is a sign that your device has been infected with malware. Remember, this can also happen after updating your system operating system.
In cases where you have not done any update, you can then be sure that a malware is at work.
8.Your device acts as if someone else were using it
Whenever you see your system mouse pointer moving on its own and deliberately clicking and opening specific application on its own. This is a simple indication that a hacker has access to your system and is manipulating it remotely.
9. Pop-ups start appearing
When you start receiving unsual pop-ups while using your system, browser or phone requesting you to click or input your login details. This is mostly a good sign that a malware is attacking your system.
10.New browser search engine default or home page.
If you notice that your browser default search engine or the home page has been changed to another, then know it that something may be amiss.
11.New browser add-ons or extension appear
Once you start seeing bowser add-ons or extensions you didn’t install, then know it that bad actors are at work.
12.You see unexplained activity on the device or account
Whenever you notice a suspicious activities on your device, like new file created or an unexplained login activities to any of your online account, that shows a hacker has access to your system.
13.Your device suddenly restarts
14.You are routed to the wrong website
Getting redirected to a particular website each time you want to browse is not a good sign. A Malware may have altered your system host file. This shows that your device having been infected.
Related Post: Hosts File- One Computer File You Should Know About
15.Your device seems slower than before
16.Your Task Manager or Registry Editor doesn’t run
These two applications are always attacked by malware. Whenever you try to run them and they stop running that shows that your device may have been infected.
17.Your device’s settings have changed
18. File contents have been changed
19.Your Internet settings show a proxy, that you never set
Once you check your device proxy settings and discover that a new proxy has been added. Then know it that a hacker is monitoring traffics as it leaves and comes into your device.
20. A Mobile app requesting more permission than needed
Whenever an app you can’t remember downloading is allocated unnecessary privileges on your mobile device. Then it is obvious a hacker is somewhere using the App as a spy on you. You need to install such an application.
Related Post: Android Phone Security- How to Block Apps from Stealing Your Personal Data.
There are many other unusual device behaviors that can help you to detect covert breaches. But you will have to be very observant to notice them.
Whenever your device starts behaving the way it wasn’t behaving before or you notice changes on your device that was not there before; know it that something suspicious is happening.
Then it is advisable you revert your most recent previous settings change you made, update, or app installation you made.
If the problem persists, then know it that your system has been infected or attacked.
