laptop got hacked..they got ip address.

[pwbkessler3]

Daughters laptop got hacked..they said they had her ip address. Shes a college student and has all her work on it and needs to save everything..not sure what to do.

[WAWood]

@pwbkessler3 

First of all, individual PCs do not have fixed IP addresses -- that is misinformation put out by TV shows and the media.

When you sign up for an ISP (Internet Service Provider), they have a SET of IP addresses that they are allowed to assign, on an as-needed basis, to each of their customers.  So, when you look at your IP address, it is the LATEST one assigned by your ISP.

Every time you reboot your PC, you disconnect from your ISP and reconnect, and at that time, your ISP assigns you an IP address.  It may be the same as the previous, or it might not.

That aside, the BEST way to save the work from the laptop is as follows:

1) Remove the hard drive from the old PC
2) Purchase a USB-to-Hard Driver adapter kit (like the one illustrated below)

3) Connect the old drive to a working PC using that adapter
4) Try to retrieve the files and folders you want to save from the old drive and copy them to the new PC.