I pirated a game and my PC started opening PowerShell on its own
Last week I tried to download a pirated game. Shortly after, my Discord account got hacked but I caught it immediately. Then my PC started opening PowerShell by itself every 10 minutes. I checked Task Manager but nothing weird showed up.
I got advice online and nuked my device, changed all passwords, and logged out of all devices. During the entire time I remember being very anxious, thinking the hacker might beat me to taking full ownership of any account I have. I am still feeling that anxiety now. I don't fully trust that I am safe online.
If this is happening to you
Practical steps for this exact situation.
- Someone has taken over my accountWhat to do in the first hour when someone else is inside your email, social or bank account, and how to work out how they got in.
- I clicked a suspicious link. What now?What clicking actually does, what it does not do, and how to tell the difference between a scare and a real problem.
- Turn on two-factor authenticationThe single change that prevents most account takeovers, which accounts to do first, and why not all methods are equal.
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