How can I determine whether my computer has been hacked?

[Mary032019]

An error message came up that informed me not to turn off my computer as I had been hacked.

[WAWood]

@Mary032019 

The most typical indications are what you are seeing -- popups indicating that someone has put something on your PC, often accompanied by solicitations of money to remove that malware.

There is no definitive guide listing everything you might see, but since you are seeing a message, then most likely, you HAVE been hacked.

And unfortunately, if that is the case, only a Full System Reset is going to erase the drive and remove everything.

[teklpt]

Always a good idea to check the basics, obtain some anti-virus and scanning tools and after install do a full scan. Pop-ups and malware will be identified by good tools (McAfee, Trend etc). Remove anything they pick up. Next, begin the process to change your account passwords and if any other accounts on there feel free to do the same.

It all just checking the basics first I have had the occasional issue like this but good housekeeping of your machine is best approach.