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What Can You Do If Your GMail or Google Account is Hacked?
Some lessons learnt from my experience of dealing with a hacked account! What to do to retrieve your GMail / Email account and what to do thereafter to protect your account.
Early this morning, my GMail account was hacked into. I checked my mails as usual around 8am and then had to head straight for a meeting. During the meeting, around 10.30 I get a call from someone who I havent heard from in the past 4 years (but have the number of, nonetheless). I dont pick up. In the next 30 minutes, I get 47 missed calls! My first reaction – there has been a bomb blast and people are just checking!
Well, my GMail account had been hacked. The hacker had sent out an email to several of my contacts, with the following message
I’m writing this with tears in my eyes,my fam and I came down here to London,England for a short vacation unfortunately we were mugged at the park of the hotel where we stayed,all cash,credit card and cell were stolen off us but luckily for us we still have our passports with us.
We’ve been to the embassy and the Police here but they’re not helping issues at all and our flight leaves in less than 3hrs from now but we’re having problems settling the hotel bills and the hotel manager won’t let us leave until we settle the bills.
Am freaked out at the moment.
– – – – –
It honestly was a shock, since I am extremely cautious when it comes to my emails. And my password is also quite weird for someone to just guess. But it still happened and I have no clue how! But I managed to come out of it…and here is how.
How To Recover Your Hacked GMail Account?
1. As a first step, inform your known ones that your account has been hacked, so any mails from your address should not be acted upon. This is best done from social sites such as Facebook or Twitter. I sent out a mail to the ISB Alumni and called everyone back who call I had missed!
2. Fill up the recovery form on Google. This is the fastest (and usually surest) way of getting your account back. However, this requires you to remember stuff like when you started using GMail, the top addresses that you send emails to, names of labels in your account, who sent you the invite for GMail, which address was it sent to etc etc.
They usually respond in 3-4 hours and if they dont, then send it once again. But not more than that. They will come back.
How To Protect Your GMail Account From Hacking?
1. If you havent done it already, have a secondary account tied to your GMail. The hacker in my case was smart and had changed even that, so I couldnt retrieve my password. But mostly this works fine. Ofcourse, dont use the same password for both the accounts!
2. Its a good idea to keep an eye on the IP session information right on the bottom of your GMail page. Clicking on details will give you information of the last 5 sessions and it will be pretty obvious if your account is being used someplace else too. Best in this segment is the “Close all other sessions” which will sign all other users out, except your current session. If you have any concerns of safety, change your password right then.
3. Google also allows you to setup your mobile as one of the password retrieving mechanisms. Depending on how careless, or careful you are as an individual, exercise this option. If you are the ones who lose their mobiles every 3rd month, might not be the best bet!
– – – – –
Phew! Its a relief that I have my account back..safe and sound. Not to mention that this entire day was a mini-reunion with people whom I hadnt reached out to months or even years! Its scary how much something like an email has become a part of you…!
Did you pay your taxes? – 2
Then our dear behenji should thank you. No..not for the rally where she spent 200 crores…not for the (5 crore!!??) money garland as well…and definitely not for the statues that she has built all over (not missing the purse though), but for this!
Mayawati has launched a high level probe into how a huge swarm of honey bees descended on Maya’s podium during her speech at her Rs 200 cr mega rally in Lucknow yesterday. The bees landed on the roof of the stage and made a hive below where the CM stood, after invading the Rama Bai Ambedkar maidan, the venue of the rally held to celebrate the party’s 25th anniversary
If this isnt WTF-ness of the highest order, here is the mother of all WTFness the world will ever get to see
Mayawati’s party alleges that the appearance of the bees is a political conspiracy. Pointing to mischief, the UP Government has ordered an inquiry
At times I wish I earn less…so that my taxes could have only gone as far as the garland and the rally. But the bee-sting high level committee? We are doomed. This woman makes me feel scared of the 33% reservation than anything else!
And while we are at it, can someone please file an RTI to get a copy of this report, when it comes out after 7 years. Am sure Ripley will buy it for a handsome price…
—
Sitting Next To An Annoying Passenger On Flight
I dont take responsibility for any pain that WILL BE inflicted on you, once you attempt to do so…but nonetheless…try it!
What to do in a flight when you have an annoying passenger sitting next to you:
1. Remove your laptop from the case
2. Open the laptop slowly and carefully
3. Turn it on, while gulping down your own spit
4. Make sure the passenger next to you is looking (well…you dont really have to do that, because 99% he will already be looking)
5. Close your eyes for a few moments and look up to the skies
6. Open this site (well…the Internet wont work, so save the file and open it) – http://www.myit-media.de/the_end.html
—–
Whats funny about these forwards is thinking of a possibility when everyone starts taking them seriously! Imagine you open your laptop to the site above and the one next to you goes…”damn…I was supposed to do that in the next minute”
or better still
Imagine you open your laptop to the site above and the one next to you goes…”damn brother…couldnt you have told the head office about this plan…i wont have friggin spent last 6 months learning how to take a bomb through airport security…now what do i do with mine?”
Fwd Courtesy: Komal Jalan
Safe is Risky!
Seth Godin (who aptly has the words GOD in his lastname) wrote this 8 years back…and reposted on his blog today. Brilliant piece. If there was ever a sermon I had to deliver (much to the agony of people around me), I would simply read this out!
“…Do you work with people who are still in high school? Job seekers only willing to interview with the folks who come on campus? Executives who are trying to make their boss happy above all else? It’s pretty clear that the thing that’s wrong with this system is high school, not the rest of the world.
Cut class. Take a seminar on french literature. Interview off campus. Safe is risky…”
Read the full post here
StudyTimes.com is now StudyNation.com
Its not just a name change, but StudyNation will soon have a host of features that will be a ‘first’ for education portals in India. Exciting times…
Time Magazine on Sachin Tendulkar
I have a feeling that this is not genuine (the Time Magazine bit), but heck, irrespective of who has written this…it still is one of the best captures of what Sachin is all about!
When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam.
When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to “open” the Nehruvian economy.
It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will.
Here is a genuine Time article though, when Sachin broke the 200 barrier
The Toughest 5 Questions for Men
Work has been tight lately…for good and for bad reasons! So I am borrowing a nice forward for this post!
The 5 toughest questions for men are:
1. What are you thinking about?
2. Do you love me?
3. Do I look fat?
4. Do you think she is prettier than me?
5. What would you do if I died?
What makes these questions so difficult is that each one is guaranteed to explode into a major argument if the man answers incorrectly ( i.e. tells the truth). Therefore, as a public service, each question is analyzed below, along with possible responses.
Question 1: What are you thinking about?
The proper answer to this, of course, is: “I’m sorry if I’ve been pensive, dear. I was just reflecting on what a warm, wonderful, thoughtful, caring, intelligent woman you are, and how lucky I am to have met you.”
This response obviously bears no resemblance to the true answer, which most likely is one of the following:
a. Cricket.
b. Shahrukh.
c. How fat you are.
d. How much prettier she is than you.
e. How I would spend the insurance money if you died.
(Perhaps the best response to this question was offered by Al Bundy, who once told Peg, “If I wanted you to know what I was thinking, I would be talking to you!”)
Question 2: Do you love me?
The proper response is: “YES!” or, if you feel a more detailed answer is in order, “Yes, dear.”
Inappropriate responses include:
a. Oh Yeah, shit loads.
b. Would it make you feel better if I said yes?
c. That depends on what you mean by love.
d. Does it matter?
e. Who, me?
Question 3: Do I look fat?
The correct answer is an emphatic: “Of course not!”
Among the incorrect answers are:
a. Compared to what?
b. I wouldn’t call you fat, but you’re not exactly thin.
c. A little extra weight looks good on you.
d. I’ve seen fatter.
e. Could you repeat the question? I was just thinking about how I would spend the insurance money if you died.
Question 4: Do you think she’s prettier than me?
Once again, the proper response is an emphatic: “Of course not!”
Incorrect responses include:
a. Yes, but you have a better personality.
b. Not prettier, but definitely thinner.
c. Not as pretty as you when you were her age.
d. Define pretty..
e. Could you repeat the question? I was just thinking about how I would spend the insurance money if you died.
Question 5: What would you do if I died?
A definite no-win question.
(The real answer, of course, is “Buy a Corvette!”)
Forward Courtesy: Randhir
Finally…The iPad Pro Launched!
Not to say that I wasnt happy with the iPad, but even Rakhi Sawant would realize that its not technically the most optimal product! In this size (and coming from Apple), one could have expected –
a full-size keyboard, USB ports, Flash support, in-built drive, mouse support, webcam etc etc
Am so glad the iPad Pro has been launched!
‘Stunning’ 9/11 Photos Released
I know that stunning is not quite an apt word to describe these photos, but honestly…these are! I only wish the occasion was something pleasant to remember!
These were released by the New York City Police Department and provided on Feb 10, 2010.
How To Prepare For The ISB Admission Interview
Came back from ISB this weekend, after interviewing Round 2 candidates for the batch of 2011. Its funny (or is tragic the word) that inspite of the sheer amount of open source information available out there…courtesy Pagalguy (and the likes), more than 50% students dont come prepared, in the real sense!
One of my favorite ways to start an interview is with the following question – “How have you prepared for this interview?”. More often than not, the response will be pagalaguy, alum interaction, current batch friends etc etc.
The next question then is “Identify 5 questions that you have prepared for best, through all your sources”…and the great part is that most come up with the same 5 odd sections. But thats where it ends.
When told to come up with their responses to those 5 questions, the lack of preparation shows. Its not really lack of preparation because they say all the right things…walk the safe path. Its essentially lack of clarity.
At the very basic level, ISB is looking at 2 things
1. Why MBA?
2. What after MBA?
— Why MBA —
THIS is the most important section. It is NOT funny how many people want to do an MBA just because they are bored of what they are doing, feel they have to finish their education as early as possible or think of it as a magic wand that will allow you to shift from IT to Investment Banking!
DO NOT state rehearsed answers – “I want to acquire business skills” “I need an MBA to prepare a business plan” “An MBA will teach me leadership and management skills”!
Understand that an MBA will not do any of these. Thinking that an MBA makes you a leader is equivalent of thinking that a bat makes you tendulkar! An MBA is a tool…which will allow you to apply yourself and become what you have to.
There are no right answers to this, because everyone has their own right answer. So dont give answers that are socially desirable. Because we are not recruiting you to make please the world…we are recruiting you for you!
Also be practical. Consider one example – ISB is not a cheap school and if you take a full loan, the EMI comes to 35K or so! So when I hear a budding entrepreneur state that ISB will help him flesh out his business plan and then he will start right after, my first reaction is “and what if you plug this 20 lacs into your business”…”what’s plan B”…and thats where the discussion stops!
— What after MBA —
Oh cmon…how can you NOT know the answer to this! Worse still, how can you not know everything about what you wish to do. 300 students want to enter McKinsey, but do you know what it takes to get in! Get a reality check.
When we see an IT guy with 10 years of experience who wants to join marketing, or a sales guy with 4 years of experience who wants to enter corporate finance, the obvious question is…what will this 1 year offer you that you think this change is possible! And they have no clue! They just think that an MBA will do that automatically for them!
This question…the most fundamental one that everyone expects…is easily the worst answered in my experience. People havent thought through it…they are clueless…which would have been fine had you done your homework and figured out where people similar to your background eventually go and what they do! But not knowing it and sitting at an ISB interview is totally unacceptable.
Equally important is to have a Plan B. If you will not get the industry shift, then what? If your business will not materialize, then what? If you do not get a 12 lac job, then what?
How can students not have a Plan B. Ok…I exclude the tiny section that tends to balance itself on overconfidence, but for the remaining, the question is more of a “oh shit…i didnt think of it” reaction! CMON!
This year, I most likely will see 13 students join the next batch, interviewed by me! I make it a point to note their contacts and look them up the next year. And I wish the ones that we have rejected had a chance to sit through the interviews of these 13 individuals and realize what a big difference clarity in thought brings!
The punchline – Be extremely sure of what an ISB MBA will do for you…and why you need it in the first place!
All other questions can be omitted…they are simply fillers!
PS: I love helping out students who are preparing for ISB (selectively though), because for me the school’s future is decided by who goes in! If anyone out there feels I could be of help, please feel free to contact! I would be more than happy!
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