Gmail Hacked? How to know if someone hacked your Gmail; Tips to secure email

Amid rising concerns regarding cybersecurity, are you worrying about someone hacking into your Gmail account? What if someone has access to your Gmail, and can hold authority over all the data and other accounts that are linked with your email! That's scary for sure! But every problem has a solution. And thankfully, here too! You can check if your Gmail account has been hacked or not and follow simple security measures to strengthen the security of your account.

Gmail hacked? Here is how to check

Google Password Checkup add-on was launched for the Google Chrome web browser on October 2, 2019. It lets users check if their Gmail account is under the huge list of hacked log-ins or not. To do so:

Step 1: You will need to download the free Password Checkup software which can be downloaded on your Google Chrome browser.

Step 2: Once installed, the Chrome extension checks any login credentials you used in the background of your browser.

Step 3: The software will alert you if your password or username matches one of the more than 4 billion compromised credentials in Google's database.

Step 4: Following that a message will appear on your screen, which reads, "Password Checkup detected that your password for [website] is no longer safe due to a data breach. You should change your password now." Additionally, it will let you know if any of your passwords were compromised in a new data breach

Besides this, you can use this website - Have I Been Pwned. This will give you more detailed information about your email address against multiple data breaches. If your account details include one of those data breaches, then the site will flash a message, "oh no – pwned". It will also tell you about the breach and what kind of data was exposed, such as email addresses and passwords, as well as which service was involved.

What to do if your account has been hacked?

• If you are under the list of those unlucky people whose account has been hacked, then you should change your password immediately.
• Not just Gmail accounts, but also change the password for the services that are hit by the breach.
• Make sure to have a strong and unique password for your Gmail.
• Make sure you do not use the same password anywhere else that you have used for your Gmail.