One dodgy download and someone was in my accounts by morning
I’ll just come out and say it: I’m an idiot. I downloaded a file I knew was dodgy, and the internet gods punished me for it almost immediately.
The next morning, I woke up to a notification that someone had burned $100 on my credit card. Losing the cash stung, but then things got weird. I got a random email from Steam saying my password had been reset, except I hadn't requested a reset. That was the "oh crap" moment. If they could get into my Steam, they were probably already digging through my Gmail, and that’s where my entire life lives.
I went into full-blown survival mode. I force-logged out of every single account I own, changed the passwords for my main emails, and did a total factory reset on my PC. But now, I’m stuck with this one problem. The file I downloaded is sitting on an external hard drive on my desk. I have no intention of ever touching that file again, but there’s a bunch of other stuff on that drive that I actually need. I’m just sitting here staring at the drive, wondering if plugging it in is safe.
If this is happening to you
Practical steps for this exact situation.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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