By Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Have you ever received a message from a friend’s social media account but your friend tells you point-blank that the message did not come from him? Or have you ever been in a situation where you are unable to access your social media accounts because they were hacked? Or in some cases, your details were cloned? (AIRTEL 0727 8804 5174 6644)
Don’t fret! You are not alone, countless others also face this same issue.
Social media accounts are constantly under attack by hackers who create and try over 300,000 new malware every day. Our beloved social media sites; Facebook, Twitter etc are always constantly on the defence as some of them are attacked multiple times a day. Just recently, Twitter had a very huge security breach; where accounts with massive numbers of followers were compromised and used to carry out a bitcoin scam.
We know how embarrassing it is to have unscrupulous messages like scams or Ponzi schemes being peddled in your name. We also know how stressful it can be in trying to regain one’s account back from the hackers. And in some rare cases, you may be unable to access that social media account ever again; making you lose all of those followers you may have acquired with all of your hard work.
Sometimes, these hacks can be nipped in the bud and stopped from causing irreparable damages to your name and brand. Do you want to prevent all of the troubles that come with being hacked? Here are best-known tips on how to protect your social media accounts from being hacked:
USE STRONG PASSWORDS
The first and obvious way of preventing your account from being hacked is for you to use a strong password.
Let’s face it, we are all always tempted to use the same password across our various social media accounts. We use the same password on our accounts because it is difficult remembering different passwords for various accounts.
Some people who are not so technologically-inclined go about storing their passwords either on their mail or other unsafe places.
Doing any of the above puts your social media account at great risk of being compromised. This is because hackers, who are always on the prowl, always have a field time cloning these accounts.
The first step towards a hack-free social media account would be to have password managers. These can help you create a strong but difficult password. The good news is that
you don’t have to bother yourself committing it to memory. The password manager would help you keep it safe.
USE THIRD-PARTY APPS SPARINGLY
A third-party application is an application made by a developer or someone other than the original vendor of the platform that the app was created for. For instance, applications running on iOS software but were not developed by Apple.
Truth is most third-party apps come with a promise of helping users enjoy a more personalised experience.
In return, users are always expected to grant these apps access to their social media accounts and other personal details.
But with the prevalence of hackers everywhere, it is really advisable that you cut down on your use of third-party applications especially those from untrusted sources. If you have to use a third-party app, make sure you are using only the right one. Also, know the extent of access you would grant to such applications.
Also, you should regularly audit your third-party apps and either remove those you no longer use or revoke access to apps you don’t trust.
TWO-FACTOR VERIFICATION
Hacking your account becomes more difficult when you are using a two-factor verification. Two-factor verification requires a user to confirm his identity using a combination of two different components. In most cases, the account password and confirmation code are sent to the user via a text message or through the registered email address.
It is really advisable to look for this feature on your favourite social media site; as it has become increasingly more popular and anyone not taking advantage of this feature is putting his account at risk.
BE WARY OF PHISHING
Most social media hacks typically originate via phishing. Phishing is a hacking technique in which the hacker sends emails or personal messages disguised to be emanating from a reputable company in order to make unsuspecting individuals reveal personal information, such as passwords, credit card numbers etc.
The user tends to think that he is logging into the real social media account without knowing that it is a fake login page that is being used to capture his details.
It is advised that users think twice before clicking on shortened URL links in emails and messages. Most of them are malicious and could be a ploy to steal your personal information.
MAXIMISE YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS
All social media sites come with an option of tailoring your privacy to your persona and taste.
It is advisable that users maximise the privacy settings options on these social media sites. Most of these sites tend to encrypt and protect your social media activity. They also prevent outside sources from accessing your information or details without your express permission.
By doing this, you are making it difficult for your account to be cloned as you would be able to easily identify the breach and also protect your information from being stolen.
Again, to maximise this privacy, if you have to surf your social media networks using a computer, ensure that secure browsing is enabled. This you can do by using an https site as it offers you maximum protection from hackers.
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