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As a first measure, one should really currently sign a Bitcoin signed message which you should place in the corresponding thread (
Stake your Bitcoin address here, and ask for it to be quoted and verified. That is, as of today, the only way of having a chance at getting a hacked account back.
@theymos is making some changes to the account recovery procedure, which should shorten the required time (currently everlasting), and will likely update on this when the full new procedure is rolled out. Meantime, it is wise to take a look at @sncc’s
[Guide] Bitcointalk account security before proceeding.
Changing the password regularly is a general good procedure to follow, but on this forum, the recovery procedure if you mess-up is currently exasperating. For example, if I interpreted correctly the content of @sncc’s guide, changing your password using your secret question leads to your account getting automatically locked (and the unlock procedure requires you to have previously have the above referenced Bitcoin signed message, and currently months on end of wait).