# What to do when account has been hacked **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 11, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630 "2013-03-11T13:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/1 "2013-03-11T13:44:06Z")
Someone has posted on my behalf, want to know what I should do. I have had it setup so that when visiting the site I log in automatically. How do I go about changing my password? Also, are there any other recommendations concerning this, how this might be prevented in the future? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/2 "2013-03-11T13:49:58Z")
Do you really need to ask how to change your password, or do you just want to be seen asking how to change your password to pre-empt sock accusations? ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/3 "2013-03-11T13:52:29Z")
First - a few things: 1. Would anyone in your household have logged in or posted on your behalf while you went away from the CPU? 2. Does anyone IRL know you post on the dope and know you well enough that they would know your password and/or be following your threads? 3. Have you ever had your account hacked before? 4. Have you been harassed electronically (I’m not talking about the verbal insults in the thread, btw). I would first try to determine if the hacker was someone you know. The admin here should be able to trace the various IPs of where you posted from. So, for instance, say you consistently post from home. Then someone hacks your account from 1/2 way across the country (same day, of course), that would be pretty indicative that you were hacked and I would imagine that the admins would be able to tell that. 5-10 years ago when I moderated message boards, we had those sorts of tools, so I can only imagine the SD has something similar. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/4 "2013-03-11T14:09:40Z")
Serious question, Cashew. Do you take any kind of sleep aids, like Ambien? I’ve used it in the past and have done some pretty bizarre things that I have no memory of in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/5 "2013-03-11T14:14:44Z")
You can go into User CP to change your password. It’s pretty self-explanatory. I’m not sure we can give any other recommendations without knowing what happened. You can message that to the mods if you are not comfortable posting it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/6 "2013-03-11T14:18:32Z")
You change your password by going into User CP and clicking Edit Your Details. Then you’ll see a button right on top for Edit Email & Password. You prevent it in the future by Logging Out when you’re done with a session. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/7 "2013-03-11T14:38:22Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > You prevent it in the future by Logging Out when you’re done with a session. Right. That’s recommended especially if you share a computer with other people. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/8 "2013-03-11T15:18:25Z")
> [@the lone cashew](#): > > Someone has posted on my behalf, want to know what I should do. I have had it setup so that when visiting the site I log in automatically. Be thankful you didn’t have sex with sheep. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/9 "2013-03-11T18:25:04Z")
I look forward to hearing some more from **the lone cashew** about this seemingly urgent issue when he has the time. What he’s proposed here and in the Pit thread is extremely strange: he says he was posting in the thread for some time, then got hacked by someone who made one post, and then **the lone cashew** resumes posting. It’d be nice to get to the bottom of this because a hack does not seem like the most plausible scenario here. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/10 "2013-03-12T12:10:38Z")
nothing more? that’s odd. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/11 "2013-03-12T12:44:09Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > nothing more? that’s odd. Keep watching, you’ll see either white or black smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/12 "2013-03-12T13:36:34Z")
PM has been sent to Mod/Admin. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/13 "2013-03-12T14:29:35Z")
By you, or the mystery hacker? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/14 "2013-03-12T15:29:00Z")
How do we know the OP is really **the lone cashew**? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/15 "2013-03-12T19:42:19Z")
Apparently not so **lone** as advertised. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/16 "2013-03-12T19:50:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > How do we know the OP is really **the lone cashew**? Right. I don’t believe your name is Sam and I’ve suspected for ages now that the Turnip is actually paper mache. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/17 "2013-03-12T20:39:24Z")
On the other hand, I am totally convinced you are drunky. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/18 "2013-03-12T21:03:57Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > On the other hand, I am totally convinced you are drunky. > 😉 Papa names us. If we don’t go along with our namesakes he takes us to the dungeon and does unspeakable things to us. :eek: \<---- That is the literal face I make when he is doing the unspeakable things. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/19 "2013-03-12T21:48:59Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Papa names us. If we don’t go along with our namesakes he takes us to the dungeon and does unspeakable things to us. :eek: \<---- That is the literal face I make when he is doing the unspeakable things. About the right hue, too. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630/20 "2013-03-13T01:41:24Z")
I’ve traced the hacker… AND HE’S IN YOUR HOUSE!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-to-do-when-account-has-been-hacked/652630.md?page=2)