For those accounts compromised in a data breach, NordVPN suggested acting quickly, before hackers can get their hands on other important information. The company shared the 5 most essential steps to keep personal information safer:

Get back into your account. The first important step is to log into the account and change the password immediately. "It shouldn't be 'password' or 'imthekingoftheworld.'" Your password needs to be strong. Try this trick: think of a statement, for example, "I love to go for a walk every evening." Then, turn it into 1l2g4awEVe (replacing I with 1, to with 2, for with 4, and every with EV). If possible, use two-step authentication and get a password manager. Most importantly, never reuse the same password for all accounts.
Take care of other accounts. For those, that use the same or similar password for more than one account, change it on all other key platforms and accounts immediately. That includes email, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others. "Even though hackers, most probably, got hold of your hashed password, there's still a chance they can decrypt it and get the real password." Check haveibeenpwned.com for any compromised accounts.
Update settings and available data. Go through the privacy settings and data provided on the breached platform and all the other important platforms used. Make sure to share only the required information and remove what's not necessary. This way, even if your account gets hacked, it will be of less value for hackers. Common advice is to share as little as possible online; and change your account settings from 'Public' to 'Private.'
Revoke access to third-party apps. "In Quora's case, for the user convenience, there was a possibility to import some data from linked social networks like Twitter and Facebook. And it seems that hackers got hold of this information as well." Check, whether the permissions on access to those accounts. Revoke access to applications that are no longer in use, as well as suspicious ones.
Beware of phishing scams. Since hackers may have detailed profile information of 100 million users on Quora, we are likely to see more personalized and sophisticated phishing scams soon. "Phishing scams are very effective, as criminals usually use a piece of real private information." Users should be careful if they received seemingly legitimate, personalized messages from financial institutions or any other familiar organizations. "That is especially valid if they ask for more personal details, fund transfers or to click on any link."

Instant Insights /

How Should the 600 Million Reportedly Hacked Users Respond?

Related Stories

Recommended For You