What to do if your Twitter Account Is Hacked…

Heather Townsend — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:44:47 +0000

In the last few days, I have seen the effect of a twitter worm spread rapidly through people’s twitter accounts. In the last fortnight, I have seen a 20x increase in the amount of spam Direct Messages (DM) I am receiving, and 95% of these spam DMs have arrived from people who were unaware that they had sent it. If you have been unfortunate, the most likely way your twitter account has been compromised has either been through giving your twitter password and user ID to an dodgy twitter application, or by clicking on a link sent to you in a Direct Message.

If you have discovered that your account has been hacked. Complete the following steps:

1) Switch off tweetdeck and Hootsuite completely (if these are running in the background after you have reset your password, you will be locked out of twitter for a few hours)

2) Delete any cookies from your system and clear your browser cache

3) Download and run this free (but very powerful virus scanner) http://conduit02.geekgalaxy.com/mbam-setup.exe (choose the quick scan option)

DO NOT skip this step. One of my twitter followers found that the twitter bug had disabled the security centre on his computer.

4) Now that you have removed any potential nasties on your machine, go into Twitter

5) Click on the setting link, click the connections tab and remove any twitter applications on the list that you do not use on a daily basis

6) Now change your twitter password

7) when you first go into tweetdeck or hootsuite you will need to change your twitter password to your new password

report your problem to twitter

To protect yourself in the future, do not give any twitter applications your twitter password – use the Oath sign-in method… and don’t click on any links in direct messages for the foreseeable future.

The Thoughts And Ideas Of The Efficiency Coach » what to do if your twitter account has been compromised

What to do if your Twitter Account Is Hacked…