Gmail account hijacked, a teacher needs help

[montessorian]

Hi,

This is Earleen, I am a Montessori teacher. The gmail account I used for my emails was hijacked yesterday in Houston, TX, and now I cannot recover it, as the hijacker changed the password and setup a 2 step verification.

I used a computer in the business center at my apartment complex, it could have been then, or else I used my laptop at a Starbucks.

I am in the USA, I live between Texas and Illinois, depending on whether it i school season or not.

Can you dear folks please help me identify a good email provider, I am ok with a paid option, which is secure, works globally (I travel to China to teach students during the summer).

I want my emails to be secure and I want to be able to recover my email after proving my identityif it is hijacked again.

Can you kind people on here please also help me with some safe browsing tips and software I can put on my laptop and phone to be safe when using public wi fi networks, e.g. Starbucks.

Bless you,
Earleen

 

[ringtail]

It is suggested that you contact these guys, who manage the competition among the most elite tier of hackers worldwide, and have the absolutely best anti - malware / virus / worm /trojan fixes and defenses available anywhere on earth.
Last Line

 

[bononos]

Hi,
This is Earleen, I am a Montessori teacher. The gmail account I used for my emails was hijacked yesterday in Houston, TX, and now I cannot recover it, as the hijacker changed the password and setup a 2 step verification.

I used a computer in the business center at my apartment complex, it could have been then, or else I used my laptop at a Starbucks.
.........

Your email password could have been stolen from a phishing scam from emails/sms. So don't enter personal details/passwords on a website that you didn't type in the address yourself.

You should be careful using public pc's in internet cafes or hotel business centers. They could be riddled with malware like keyloggers which could scoop up your passwords. Public wifi like Starbucks should be ok for checking your email since gmail should use ssl for signing in. What is usually preferred is a free/paid(faster) VPN while using public wifi.

You probably need to set up 2 step verification using your phone with Gmail/Microsoft/hotmail since they red flag attempts to sign in from a different country from where you're normally from. Or choose a provider which doesn't care where you log in from, which is useful if you use a VPN in place like China.

Posteo is a paid service for 1euro/mn which won't hassle you for logging in a different country since its tor friendly.

 

[John Connor]

I use GMX for certain situations. May want to look into them as well. http://www.gmx.com/

 

[DigDog]

gmx is good. or mail.com; or hotmail. or another gmail account, it doesn't matter.

 

[bononos]

gmx is good. or mail.com; or hotmail. or another gmail account, it doesn't matter.

Those email services have trouble logging in if the user doesn't want to use a phone because of roaming charges while travelling or hasn't set up a phone verification app. Which is why a tor-friendly mail service could be better for the non-tech savvy.

Edit- to clarify - An offline authentication app which works with gmail/hotmail etc shouldn't need sms (another 2fa verification method) and would be a good solution for the OP so he can continue using the same free webmail accounts.

 

[John Connor]

What? GMX isn't like that.

 

[Elixer]

Hi,

This is Earleen, I am a Montessori teacher. The gmail account I used for my emails was hijacked yesterday in Houston, TX, and now I cannot recover it, as the hijacker changed the password and setup a 2 step verification.

I used a computer in the business center at my apartment complex, it could have been then, or else I used my laptop at a Starbucks.

I am in the USA, I live between Texas and Illinois, depending on whether it i school season or not.

Can you dear folks please help me identify a good email provider, I am ok with a paid option, which is secure, works globally (I travel to China to teach students during the summer).

I want my emails to be secure and I want to be able to recover my email after proving my identityif it is hijacked again.

Can you kind people on here please also help me with some safe browsing tips and software I can put on my laptop and phone to be safe when using public wi fi networks, e.g. Starbucks.

Bless you,
Earleen

I don't understand the problem here.

Why don't you just use gmail again, and this time turn on 2-factor verification (you seem to know this after the fact?), and don't use a weak password. Also, install the google authenticator app on your phone, and you can use that as well.

If you are checking ANYTHING over someone else's network, then you must use encryption (https) so you have at least some way of hiding plain text passwords.

Obviously, you shouldn't run anything on your computer or phone from strangers, and you don't click on anything in e-mail attachments unless you are 100% positive of the sender, AND you have verified that the attachment doesn't have malware in it. (Use http://virustotal.com and upload the attachment there, and make sure it is malware free.)

Though, I am wondering if the OP isn't some kind of spambot... Doesn't make sense to mention 'Montessori teacher' in the context of this issue. So, this thread smells fishy.

 

[DigDog]

hit n run account.

 

[montessorian]

Hello,

I am not a spambot or a hit n run account. I was only trying to introduce myself.

Thank you for your replies though. I prefer to use some paid service, in which I can have some sort of support if my email is hacked, etc.

I will look into these options but please do let me know if you recommend any paid options as well.

Bless you
Earleen

 

[Elixer]

Hmm, while I am still leery, I will play along.

What is wrong with your ISP's e-mail account then?
What is your price range?
How much e-mail volume are we talking about?
Are you concerned about portability?
Are you looking for web based, or do you want IMAP or POP3 support?
Are you looking for something like this? https://www.rackspace.com/email-hosting/webmail

 

[DigDog]

i use both gmail and hotmail (and also gmx AND mail.com), and i have never, in 20+ years, have had a problem with any of them. both gmail and hotmail can be accessed through my phone, and they offer every feature a paid service offers, including support, for free.

also, getting hacked is .. unlikely.

 

[KeithP]

Hello,

I am not a spambot or a hit n run account. I was only trying to introduce myself.

Thank you for your replies though. I prefer to use some paid service, in which I can have some sort of support if my email is hacked, etc.

I will look into these options but please do let me know if you recommend any paid options as well.

Bless you
Earleen

Give https://www.fastmail.com/?domain=fastmail.fm a look.

-KeithP

 

[Deathlord]

If you weren't phished....maybe used the same password across multiple accounts? There are some other services that will notify you when your email address (which is usually a username as well) is found in some compromises. Something like https://haveibeenpwned.com/.

Personally, I see no need to pay for an email service. Especially with all the features noted by the other posters that one should take advantage of.

 

[sn8ke]

I would not recommend a paid email service. That will just put more things at risk if it's compromised such as credit card info, personal details etc. I doubt their security or features would be able to compete with something like gmail which is indeed extremely secure. However like with all services, including paid ones, their security can only do so much from their end. A major portion will always rely on the user to keep their passwords safe and be careful what they click, or install, or where they connect from.

Have you contacted Google about it? I don't see why they couldn't help you get back into your account. https://support.google.com/mail/answer/50270?hl=en

No matter what service you choose, you must not use the same password in multiple places, and it is a good idea to change your password fairly often. Once a year would be okay. Also make sure your password is strong enough. Use passphrases, like "1 teacher four passwords". Of course don't use that one, it's just an example.