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7 Steps to Avoid Getting Hacked (Again)

If you've ever been hacked, you know how awful the experience can be. We help you arm yourself with the security knowledge you need to keep from becoming a repeat victim.

 & Kim Key Senior Writer, Security

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Let’s set the scene: A celebrity posts something contentious online. Then, after receiving a fair amount of blowback, that celebrity proclaims, “I got hacked!”

Famous people are humans, too, and they say ridiculous things or make unsubstantiated claims on occasion. And sometimes, these celebs really are victims of a hacking incident. Either way, their public shaming gives the rest of us an opportunity to learn to mind our manners online or develop safer browsing habits and avoid the humiliation they endure.


What Can You Do to Avoid Getting Hacked?

If you're a fresh victim, our condolences. Check out our guide to what to do after you've been hacked.

After you solve any issues related to identity theft, malware, or ransomware, it's time to take preventative steps to avoid getting hacked again. Follow these steps to keep yourself safe:


Deter Hackers With Safe Online Behavior

The key to staying safer online is to keep a tight hold on your personal data and login credentials. Widespread passkey adoption could make passwords a nuisance of the past, but as we've seen year after year, cybercriminals adapt to changing technologies quickly.

If you're hoping to reduce your online footprint to limit opportunities for crooks, check out our guide to completely disappearing on the internet.

About Our Expert

Kim Key

Kim Key

Senior Writer, Security

My Experience

I review privacy tools like hardware security keys, password managers, private messaging apps, and ad-blocking software. I also report on online scams and offer advice to families and individuals about staying safe on the internet. Before joining PCMag, I wrote about tech and video games for CNN, Fanbyte, Mashable, The New York Times, and TechRadar. I also worked at CNN International, where I did field producing and reporting on sports that are popular with worldwide audiences.

In addition to the categories below, I exclusively cover ad blockers, authenticator apps, hardware security keys, and private messaging apps.

The Technology I Use

I like testing new software for work, but I'm less "plugged in" to the internet than I used to be. I tend to read app privacy policies to see what kind of data companies collect, and as a result of those findings, I don't use many mobile apps. In a similar vein, I was an early adopter of many social media platforms, but now I’m just an infrequent Reddit lurker.

I'm a gear junkie. I split my work time between a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro and a Lenovo ThinkPad. I shoot most of my videos for PCMag using a Canon M50, a Sony A7iii, and a Sony a6000. I edit videos using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro.

I write all of my words for PCMag either in the MS Notepad app on my ThinkPad or the Notes app on my iPhone 12 mini. If I'm traveling and working, I use my iPad to write short articles or take notes.

My dad built me my first computer sometime in the late '90s, and I used it for reading Encyclopedia Britannica and writing Sailor Moon fan fiction. My first phone was the ubiquitous Nokia candy bar.

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