My email account is being hacked into by an ex. how can i stop this?

how could he have done it, by installing a device into my laptop? how i do get rid of it?

My email account is being hacked into by an ex. how can i stop this?
Check your startup items using free winpatrol, check for spyware or keyloggers with superantispyware (best out there), make sure all windows updated have been installed, turn on your firewall.





Change ALL passwords everywhere (router, windows, email, I mean everywhere) to a strong password (8 characters minimum, at least one number, at least one capital letter, no words found in dictionary)
Reply:Keylogger for sure as others have mentioned. Also, keylogging is *highly* illegal and you can basically have your ex's **** in court.
Reply:Several ways someone can hack your account, especially someone close to you.





1) They know personal information about you. So they may be able to answer your security questions that are in place to recover your "forgotten password".





2) Your password is too generic. You should always change your password on occassion (3months or if you are feeling suspicious) and do not use the same password for everything! ( Don't have the same password for your email, your myspace, your finances ect) Do not use passwords that can be linked to you. For instance, don't use kids names, birthdays, names of loved ones, favorite items or themes ect. Always mix symbols, letters and numbers into passwords. Use something like t1ger$





3) Secure who has access to your laptop. You can set yourself up a user account and password protect it with a password other then what you use for your email.





Other ways to hack your email is:





Keyloggers. If he had access to your computer at some point, he could have installed a small program that records any keystroke you make including passwords. These can be hard to find as they typically wont show up on your computers add/remove list ect. My advice on this is backup any information you want to keep and do a system restore on it. There are keyloggers that will record your information and then email it secretly to another account! Also use programs like spybot to search and detect programs like this (doesn't always work but might) Some of the more common keyloggers have a hidden command such as cntrl+alt+shift+k to bring up the keyloggers menu.





There are also hardware keyloggers. These intercept information from your keyboard directly and can be found where your keyboard plugs into your tower.





There are lots of ways for people to hack your account, and as the saying goes..one ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.





Immediately change your passwords, change the security options of your email accounts, security questions, answer ect. Backup needed information and restore your laptop to factory settings is my advice.
Reply:He probably knows your passwords. Change them.
Reply:prob. a key installer
Reply:He could have installed a software keylogger. Check with these:





Use both on-line scans. Both are free and excellent at detecting malware.





1. Scan for virus, worms etc. and remove (free online scan, no download) with BitDefender.


http://www.bitdefender.com/site/home/





2. Scan for trojans and spyware and remove (free online scan, no download) with Ewido.


http://www.ewido.net/en/





Good luck.
Reply:Change your password...and run a spyware detection software on your computer

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