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my email has been hacked. it has the language changed

Jane Moore 0 Reputation points
2026-05-05T17:06:29.2133333+00:00

My email has been hacked and the language changed. i havent received any emails for a couple of days. also the top right symbol has also changed from my initials to the same initials but the opposite way round. i have logged out of all devises and changed my password but it still is foreign.

how do i change this back to english and to my account and will it be safe?

Outlook | Web | Outlook.com | Account management, security, and privacy

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  1. EmilyS726 228.2K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-05-05T17:39:06.4133333+00:00

    Hello

    I've seen this happen to other users and have compiled a list of actions you can do to tackle this.

    But first, you need to get the language changed.

    In outlook.com, go to Settings (gear icon on upper right), then use this screenshot to guide you to set the language:

    Screenshot 2026-03-04 123841

    I am going to share with you the comprehensive list of things to do, please feel free to skip those you already did.

    This process can take 24 hours to take effect. So please do not expect immediate results.

    Please complete these steps on a computer, not on a smartphone or tablet.

    ====================

    First, go to https://www.outlook.com and sign in.

    Click the gear icon in the top right corner to open Settings.

    Under Mail, review the following areas:

    Rules

    If any rules are listed, delete all of them.

    Conditional formatting

    If anything is set up there, delete it.

    Forwarding and IMAP

    If you see any entries or settings you did not create, remove them. Turn off POP and IMAP.

    Junk

    Review Safe sender and blocked list. If you don't recognize any, remove them.

    After that, exit Settings and return to outlook.com.

    Open the To Do section by clicking the blue checkmark icon on the left side. Delete anything there that was not created by you.

    ====================

    Go to https://account.live.com.

    Under Your info > Sign-in preferences, review all aliases on the account. If you see any alias you do not recognize, remove it.

    Next, go to the Devices section of your Microsoft account and remove any devices you do not recognize.

    ====================

    Please also do the following in Security section

    Change your password

    Enable two-step verification

    ====================

    Go here https://account.microsoft.com/privacy/app-access Click on "Don't allow" for anything you don't recognize.

    =======================

    Then go to Security > Manage how I sign in and make sure all contact information belongs to you.

    On that same page, scroll down to App passwords and remove any existing app passwords.

    Also on the same page, click on Sign out everywhere. This is intended to disconnect any active sessions that may still be connected. Please note that this can take up to 24 hours to fully take effect.

    ====================

    In addition, this problem can sometimes be caused by a malicious script or infection on one of your devices.

    Are you using a Windows computer to check email? Do you use an email app such as Outlook Classic or New Outlook?

    If so, please open the app and remove the account from the app settings.

    Then go to the Microsoft Safety Scanner download page:

    https://learn.microsoft.com/defender-endpoint/safety-scanner-download

    Download the 64-bit version, run a full scan, and let me know what the final results say.

    =====================

    If after 24 hours it still doesn't work, please do this:

    Go to your Microsoft account online https://account.live.com> Sign in > Your info > Sign in preference. Add an alias - You have two options here:

    Create new: this will allow you to use the native domain outlook.com to create a new alias.

    Add existing: this will allow you to add a 3rd party email address, such as yahoo, gmail, as long as they are not already associated with another Microsoft account.

    Once added, make this new alias your primary alias, do NOT delete the old alias. Then at the bottom, click on "Change sign in preference". On the next page, uncheck the box for the old alias. This means, from now one, the old alias cannot be used to sign into your Microsoft account, but it can be still used to receive emails, etc.

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