5 Tips to Protect your Social Media Account from Hackers and Scammers
Social media is great for keeping in touch with friends, and staying up to date with the latest trends. However, social media is also an easy way for hackers and scammers to access our information. To help protect your account, here are 5 top tips:
- Passwords are your most powerful protection tool
A strong password is essential if you are serious about preventing others from accessing your social media accounts. Aim for your passwords to contain at least 8 characters, and made up of a combination of letters, numbers and symbols.
- Delete old third party apps
Apps can access information from your device so it is important that you take inventory of the third party apps linked with your social media accounts. Delete any that you don’t use or no longer need, and for the ones that you do keep, limit the access they have to your personal information.
- Check what you’re sharing in your posts
Sharing is not always caring with regards to social media. Remember that whatever you post will be there forever- available for friends, family and future employers to see. Also, check the privacy settings of your accounts to control who sees your posts. You don’t want your house to be burgled whilst you are away because you told the world you were on holiday.
- Use a VPN when signing in from public WiFi
VPN providers enable you to stay safe when using the internet in public spaces. VPN’s hide your IP address, and prevent people from knowing where you are located, and who you are online.
- Sign up for two-step authentication
With two-step authentication, even if a hacker gets your password, he will be unable to access your account if they need another factor to log on. Nowadays you can authenticate your social media accounts with your phone number, or even your finger print. Explore the options and see what two-step authentication system works for you.
