plenty of dependencies on the internet. These days the gateway to someone’s life is through their electronic gadgets, whether it be their phones, computers, or even their MP3 players. Applications like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok have all risen to popularity over the last decade tremendously. Even though questions regarding their privacy issues and lack of security have often done the rounds, it still has not stopped their immense popularity.
During this tumultuous period of quarantine, most schools and office work is being done from home through the use of Skype and Zoom. We thank God for the invention of these two saviors of communication platforms for helping us to get through our work. However, Zoom has been through a lot of controversy regarding its security issues. It has been studied that people who were using Zoom switched to using Skype after hearing such claims. But not always is this switch possible. Sometimes office demands require you to stick to Zoom meetings.
Electronics Can Spy On Us
There have also been controversies regarding how our electronics can spy on us even when we are not using them. It can be hacked by various organizations and can be misused. However, since our lives heavily depend on multiple applications, we cannot switch off from it. Schoolwork, looking for jobs, emailing, video calling, playing games, uploading pictures, texting, and even shopping online have all become a part of our regular life. Issues like privacy cannot keep us from doing all of these day-to-day activities. What we can do is make all of these social media forums more secure and private.
Keep Your Social Media Accounts Secure
There are different methods for us to secure our social media accounts, and take proper precautions while creating an account or even using it. Also, while creating such social media profiles, never forget to carefully read through the terms and conditions offered by a particular application. Whether it is Instagram or Amazon, when creating an account, make sure you are aware of what you agree to. This allows you to be alert of any discrepancies that might happen in the future.
Use A Strong Password
Once you create an account, it is highly recommended for you to use a strong password. A strong password is a password that is difficult to crack by a hacker or another user. These passwords typically include a mixture of symbols, signs, numbers, and unique words in both uppercase and lowercase format. It can be as tricky as you want as long as you remember what it is!
Keep Changing Your Password
Another way of securing your account from getting hacked is to change your password once in a while. This is highly recommended for people who do not want their old or public devices to have any access to their new accounts. It is often done by and highly advisable for business workers from blocking their former staff or team members to access their present page. To be on the safer side, it is better not to use similar or the same old password.
Two-factor Authentication
Another way, and probably one of the most secure ways, to protect your social media channels, is through two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication allows anyone who is trying to access your account to insert a PIN that is sent to the saved phone number (that is linked to the report) before getting the access granted. This allows the original user to be aware of any malicious activity and take several steps.
These are some of the precautions you can take while creating a social media account. But, what about those accounts that you already possess? How to secure them?
With every new trend and applications introduced, we always feel like being a part of it. Since we keep downloading and activating different accounts for different social media platforms, we often might forget about the existence of some. Such social media accounts that are hardly used or are just forgotten are best to close. Often such forgotten accounts get compromised without being noticed, and hackers take advantage of its vulnerability. Hence, it is better to close such accounts.
Keep Updating
Another way of securing your accounts is by keeping your electronic devices and your applications updated. Make sure that whatever app you are using is the advanced and latest version.
Keep Your Account Private
Social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook allow their users to make their accounts private, i.e., people who the users accept as their friends can only see their profile. This helps in blocking strangers and stalkers from disturbing you or even misusing your pictures or you can use (https://4hub.net/see-who-views-your-instagram/) to keep a check on people who view your Instagram story. People who do not need to communicate with a broad public are best suited for switching over to a protected account.
Even while searching for jobs in platforms like LinkedIn, you can activate your privacy settings making your profile accessible to a selected group of the audience rather than the entire mass. Not everyone needs to know about every change you make to your profile or when you start following a particular company.
Don’t Share Your Personal Information
Posts made on Facebook and Instagram, where people upload pictures of almost every second of their lives, can have their risks. Sometimes seemingly innocuous public posts can be life-threatening. For instance, posting about where you live or where you are vacationing currently is sensitive information that can be taken advantage of by burglars or criminals if the account is kept public. Hence, it is always much safer to keep such statements private, unless you are an influencer or promoting products to the broader public.
These can be some of the safer and secure ways to keep you protected. Remember always to value your safety even while having fun.
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