The moment you realize it happened is the worst. You're locked out of your email address and you don't what to do. Panic, dread, and helplessness are the only things you feel.
Yes, you've been hacked, but now is the time to act.
If you act swiftly and rationally you can clear up this mess in a matter of hours.
Here are the first things you should do to minimize the damage a hack does to your life.
SEE ALSO: The best ways to keep your identity safe, according to the world's top security experts
Don't panic!
People get hacked everyday. This may not seem comforting, but just know that things will get back to normal soon. Take a few seconds, breathe, and know that this can be fixed.
Get your account back
If you're locked out of your account, the first thing you need to do is get it back. You do this by contacting the service provider, be it Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. They all have forms and numbers you can call to regain control. But the quicker you do this the less damage that gets done.
Change all your passwords
Once you have all your accounts back, change all the passwords. Don't iterate on old passwords. Instead, make long and very difficult passwords. Include different cases, letters, numbers, and symbols.
Hackers do attacks called "brute force" where they try to guess passwords using trial and error. Despite how arduous it sounds it's insanely effective. The way to avoid being hacked by a brute force attack is to have a password that is long, difficult, and not based on a word in the dictionary.
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