Ummm.... No, not the saw-a-person-in-half kind of "hacked" but rather...
You try to log into your Google Apps For Education (GAFE) Account - and you can't. The password just doesn't work. You just know that it is the right password, but you can't get in. Then... your cell phone rings. Your best buddy is on the line and is very concerned that you seem to be in Sri Lanka and need money to get home...
There is a very good chance that your email has been hacked.
So, what do you do? How do you know if someone is spoofing your email address or has actually hacked into your email? Here are the steps that I suggest to my user-base.
Step one.... change your password - RIGHT NOW! If you can still get into your email that is. You may have to click "forgot your password" and try to reset. If you are part of a Google Apps For Education domain, then you can call your administrator and get them to reset your password. If your account is not GAFE, then check out this Google Knowledge Base (KB) article.
Step two - let your GAFE account administrator know what happened! If you were compromised, the rest of the domain could be compromised as well.
Step three - secure your account. I can't say enough about having a really good, secure password. It should be long with numbers, capital letters and special characters - if possible. I can hear you already... "I can NEVER remember a long password!" Well, yes you can!! Here is a great trick. Pick a favorite phrase. Since I love to "butcher" Shakespeare, for this example I will use: "To be, or not to be, that is the question! This would now become: 2bon2btitq! See, I have digits, letters and a special character. No capital letters though... but thats OK!
Google (and others) also offer two step authentication. I HIGHLY recommend this. All of my accounts are two step. What happens here is that after putting in your secure password, GAFE will text you message with a numeric string. Your account will prompt you to enter those digits before logging you in.
Now, I already hear your complaint... "Do I have to enter the code EVERY time??!!"
Well, no. You can click the "remember my computer for 30 days" prompt and you are good for a month! After all, it is the hacker in Taiwan that you are trying to protect ourselves from.
Some good general rules:
NEVER share your password. Never, never, never! I have issues with schools that make the teachers and students share their passwords with the Admin. If for some reason, the end user forgets their password, then it is very easy for the Admin to reset it.
Your password is the key to your digital footprint. That footprint will follow you for your entire life, so it is so crucial that it be protected.
As always, I solicit your comments on the blog page.
Yossie
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