I can't click directly on links

[Debbie195]

HP Pavilion 500-c60   When I do to my emails I can not click directly on links. i have to paste and copy. I don't know what has changed other than my email has been hacked twice. Ever since then I can not click on a link directly. Called internet provider, they say everything is ok on their end but someone must have changed "Hyper Links?" Anyone have any idea what has happened?

[WAWood]

I don't understand what you mean by your e-mail being hacked.  Email is stored on a server box maintained by an email provider, usually an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and if they were hacked, then probably tens of thousands of other folks would have been hacked, too.  Who is your email provider?

If your PC was hacked, that is a very different situation and a very serious one as hackers are very good at hiding malware from even the best antivirus programs.  So, was your PC hacked?

[Debbie195]

I have spoken to internet provider at great lengths and they say nothing wrong on their end. When someone hacked me I had to reset my email as I have it automatically set to come up. It kept redirecting me somewhere else so twice I had to reset. Apparently someone did hack my computer because I have Malware and security thru McAfee. I just don't know where to go next. Can you help?

[WAWood]

That's really unfortunate -- as the only SAFE thing to do with a PC that has been hacked is to totally WIPE the drive clean and reinstall Windows from scratch.

If you only erase of reformat the drive, which is what a factory reset does, that does not actually clean the drive; instead, all it does is hide the files from Windows, and any hidden malware can reactivate itself after a Windows reinstall.

To WIPE the drive, you need to remove it and connect it to a working PC.  Then download and install MiniTool Partition Wizard as it has a tool that will allow you to wipe the drive.  This will take HOURS to do.

Once that is done, you need to use the HP Cloud Recovery tool to reinstall Windows.

If your PC is a 2016 model or newer, you should see if you can make a bootable USB recovery drive using the HP cloud recovery tool on a working PC.

The recovery drive can then be used to install Windows and the HP drivers and utilities that originally came with your PC.

You will need a working PC and a 32GB USB stick to hold the recovery files. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmtXOU40vxk

You use the Microsoft Store to download the actual tool:

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9mtks9pr7r3n?rtc=1&hl=en-us&gl=us

If you use a different PC to run the tool, you will have to provide your PC's product number. Here is an HP link for finding that information:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_2039298-1862169-16

Here's a video from HP Support about using the Cloud Recovery Tool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7AwuKNJKS4