Just about a year ago I received an anonymous message on Facebook while editing some images of my children as I do at this time of year.  I had just shot some pictures of my kids jumping on the bed and was so relaxed having a great time creating the art I love.  Then that message popped up which altered my business life forever.  I became a hacked photographer.

How many times over the course of ‘the internet’ have you been warned against having lame passwords?  How many times have you thought “I should change mine” or “I wonder if my password is ok”.  Those were things I have heard over and over and over the last several years but considering that my ‘tried and true’ password of 12 characters, upper and lower case as well as numerals seemed fairly complex I figured I was safe.  It turns out I certainly wasn’t and the chain of events that happened was terrible.

I am not going to rehash the full story of being a hacked photographer as I wrote out the whole event after it happened that you can link to HERE.

Who Helped This Hacked Photographer?

Getting help after you are hacked is a hard thing to get.  Not many people understand what that means and how it affects you as a person.  The RCMP were of no help because the hacker had contacted me through Facebook and they had little to no interest in seeing what they could do in order to help me.  They told me to change my passwords and other sensitive info and beyond that they had very little to suggest.

Also, many security companies had a hard time being able to secure any part of my online life due to the fact that my website was off-line due to my stolen domain.  I had a couple of companies that felt they would be able to do something, charged me a few hundred dollars and that was it.  No real service because what I didn’t understand at the time was that really without your domain your site is just sitting in space with no anchor.  It can’t be accessed by anyone because it just floats around and I was taken advantage of like other hacked photographers are.  Fortunately I was able to get a refund from a few said companies that tried to help, however no one could.  At that moment I knew that First Blush Photography was dead.

The Best Little Security Company on the Web

When I started up www.suzannetaylorphotography.com to rebrand and move forward (because often domains are rarely returned to the original owner) I vowed to NEVER end up in the same position that I found myself in when I was hacked.  I searched the WordPress plugin page and looked for security.  I didn’t want to end up as a hacked photographer again so I selected a company that looked like it had some good reviews and wasn’t excessively huge but responsible.  That company is Centrora Security.

I have been with Centrora for just about a year now and to be honest they are one the best companies I think that I have ever worked with for any reason.  I have 24/7 protection with a team that has access to my site from the back end of my site as well.  As a hacked photographer though, the best part of this company has been the customer service.  There has NEVER been a time I have waited longer than a few hours to speak to someone (due to global time differences) and no issue I have had to deal with longer then a few minutes.  They are so prompt and professional – and intelligent….oh….and patient.  I have been ‘that’ customer – the one as a photographer you dread…the one that doesn’t understand anything no matter how many times you rephrase it.

I would highly recommend Centrora Security if you do not have a current security company for your photography (or any other industry) website.  If you are reading this and thinking to yourself “poor girl – I hope I don’t end up like she did” you need to give your head a shake and ask yourself if $11/USD a month is too much to pay for peace of mind.  I am really no one in the world of photography – yes I have won some awards and yes, I like to stay active in my photography communities but when you consider what I had to steal, it wasn’t very much.  Starting over has been a lot of work and came at a time that is never good – because any unwanted change thrust upon you is never fun, but it happened and I survived.

Don’t ever assume that you will not be next on the list of a hacker.  If you take the appropriate steps to secure your digital world, you will not regret it.  What is the cost of your memories if someone broke into Facebook and stole it from you.  What about Instagram – or in my case, my personal iCloud account.  Please refer to my link above to find out the best way to safeguard yourself from devastation, expense and the loss of your time.  This took hundreds of hours for me to correct over the course of six months with still no iCloud (because Apple feels it is more important to ensure that my account is safe with my hacker and not with me).  Don’t end up regretting – get safe now.

Warmly,
Suzie
XO

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