Clean the device and rotate every password

    From a different, trusted device, change everything — then deal with the infected machine.

    JDCS
    By Jordan Dickson · Reviewed by CSG Security Engineers

    Updated June 2026 · 1 min read

    Two parallel jobs: secure your accounts from a clean device, and restore the compromised device to a known-good state. Don't try to do account recovery on the infected machine.

    Reset vs scan

    If you don't know what they did, a factory reset is the only honest answer for high-value devices. Scans miss a lot of remote-access scammer tooling.

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    JD

    Written by

    Jordan Dickson

    Founder, CyberSecurityGuides

    Founder of CyberSecurityGuides, writing practical, jargon-free guides that help everyday people recover from and protect against online attacks.

    Reviewed by CSG Security Engineers

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