HAS A CYBERSTALKER TAKEN OVER YOUR LIFE? HERE'S HOW TO GET IT BACK

Picture this: You enter your house and find a stranger (or an enemy) sitting at your kitchen table chowing down on your leftover potato salad and reading your mail. You order him out, but before long, he’s back.

- NEIL J. RUBENKING

You change the locks. You call the police (who can’t seem to do anything). No matter what you try, you can’t get rid of the unwanted invader. Eventually, in desperation, you change your name and move out of state. This may sound like an unlikely tale in the physical world, but in the digital realm, it’s a lot easier for a stalker to occupy and effectively own your online life. I’m not just talking about an over-controlling partner stalking you with software so as to know your location and read your texts, terrible as that is. I’m talking here about a complete takeover, where someone else, known or unknown to you, can read your email, post to your social media feeds, and run any software they want (including malware) on your computer.

THIS IS NOT A HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION

This terrible concept isn’t just something I made up for clicks, sadly. It started with an email from a reader seeking help for a relative who was experiencing exactly this kind of digital stalking. The shadowy nemesis changed passwords on the relative’s phone and computer, altered settings to eliminate operating system security features, and gained full access to his email.