Simple Ways to Secure Social Media Accounts and Avoid Getting Hacked!

Social media history dates back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. During that time, social media was a newly emerging concept gaining much interest from its users. Making a profile on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter has since then become relatively easy. The main problem is how to secure social media accounts. The privacy concerns associated with social media are something that is still lurking in the dark. 

Privacy concerns have been an integral part of the digital society. Our data is a means of earning money. But these days, the focus has shifted towards data privacy, especially social media privacy, as more and more people are exploring this arena. This has to lead to the requirement to secure social media account. But the question remains – Is securing social media possible? Or is it all a gimmick? 

Truth be told. Not everything is safe on social media. But there are many ways that, if practiced diligently, can surely help to secure social media accounts. 

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Secure Social Media Account: What are the Threats Online?

Before looking at how to secure and protect social media accounts, it is imperative to look at how dangerous social media is. Following are some of the dangerous things that can be done to the hacked account. 

Hackers can hack personal information from shopping sites, social media, or anywhere. Usually, through one click, a lot of information, including bank details, can be furnished. 

1) Hackers may gain access to the corporate information of an individual. That is why it is essential to secure social media accounts as our company details are also often stated there. 

2) Hackers can try to harass people to get something from them, like a ransom. Hackers may blackmail that they will leak sensitive information online. 

3) Many times, hackers use a person’s online account to do illegal activity. This is why it is essential to secure social media accounts.

How To Secure Social Media Account?

Social media today is not restricted to sharing pictures or making new friends. It is a platform where digital content is created, and advertisements get activated. Social media today is a career, and people are making huge money out of it. 

This factor is all the more reason why users must follow steps to secure their social media accounts. 

1) Follow good password hygiene: Passwords can make or break a social media account. It is essential to use a complex and unique password for every different social media handle. Various combinations must be used to make a password stronger so that unauthorized people have no access to it. Passwords must get changed frequently. 

2) Close and log out of all accounts: We often make accounts on any platform and forget them later. It is always a good and right practice to log out or delete any unused social media account. Hackers can always use these accounts to do any unlawful activity. 

3) Different mail IDs for various social media: Today, everything gets linked to one mail id. But for security reasons, it is a good practice to make different emails for different social media accounts. This way, even if an account gets hacked, all the valuable information will remain intact. 

4) Laptops and Mobile phones must get updated: Old versions are more prone to security breaches. It is advisable to keep phones and laptops up-to-date. 

5) Create company policy for social media usage: As businesses come into the digital sphere, it is essential to use company social media accounts carefully.

To secure social media accounts, companies must make policies that should be adhered to by everyone. Investments must be made in security products to secure social accounts.

The social media account must have an exclusive email address, and only one person must have Admin access. The authentication procedure must get completed in all of the social media accounts.

Only company-owned wifi must be in use as cybercriminals access a lot of information through public connections. Even company passwords must be unique and should be changed frequently. This is how to secure social media accounts.

How to Protect and Secure Social Media Accounts?

Securing social media accounts and protecting them involves understanding crucial information such as privacy policies, etc. Usually, not much emphasis is given to these, and people rarely even read them. Following are some of the ways to protect and secure social media account.  

1) Please focus on the privacy policy of the social media handles: It is advisable to go through the privacy policies laid out by the social media company before signing on to anything.

Users must understand the privacy terms to protect and secure social media accounts. Look at the things you agree to sign up for. Look for the default privacy settings and whether these can be modified. 

2) Personal information: Whenever a new account gets created, much biographical information needs to get feeded. For this, read the privacy guidelines so that you can minimize the information to be given. There is an option on social media that helps in limiting the personal information to other social media users. 

3) Keep a tab on how much information you share: While giving account details, never share bank details or sensitive information. All such information should never get shared online. And if there is anything compulsory, which needs to get added to business accounts, it is advisable to have a professional’s advice.

4) Pick online friends carefully: Friend requests or connection requests must be accepted by known people only. It is very risky to be friends online with unknowns as they can harm anyone, and we cannot always predict online repercussions. Opening an account online should not be confused with making everybody a friend. 

5) Pay attention to the site features: All social media features must be well known before sharing them. For instance, who can view the pictures, who does it function for, etc. 

6) Share what is needed: Super private information like – home address, details of vacations, children’s names must never get shared online because online criminals are always there to see this. No one can say who is lurking behind and what the motives are. 

7) Keep Your Location off: In the privacy settings, the location must always be kept off. Only while using maps, location can be switched on but remember to close it right after. This way, the live places will be turned off. 

8) No Clickbait: While surfing social media, we often notice clickbait messages like click here to win this or check who you share your birthday with. All these are clickbait ads by third-party that may try to misuse your personal information. 

A Major Concern for Privacy

These days Whatsapp University, as it is said, has led to the outbreak of fake news and misinformation. All the forwards on social media handles are nothing but fake news.

A lot of political propaganda has got credited towards fake news, deep fakes, and manipulative speeches. This has become a rising concern for national security also. Hence, there is a search for Whatsapp Alternatives as well.

For this reason, online users must know to secure social media accounts. No forwards should get followed blindly, and every setting that a person makes in the account should be done after proper reading it. All such information must get verified. 

Few Tips for a More Secure Social Media Account

Privacy and online security are integral parts of social media. To secure social media accounts is the need of the hour. With the inception of AI-enabled apps, privacy concerns are all the more critical. Few tips for adequately using social media. 

• Have a strong password and change it monthly.
• Use different passwords for different social media handles. 
• Use one device to log on to social media. 
• Avoid using cyber cafes or friend’s phones to use social media. 
• Be cautious while using public wifi.
• Use a VPN.
• Do not click any clickbait links. 
• Use security software on computers and laptops. 

Being on social media is not a bad thing. After all, it is a service where our data is a product. But what we share and how much we share is something that is in our control. It is better to know everything rather than following a herd and jumping to it. Our online security lies in our hands. 

Secure Social Media Accounts FUQs (Frequently Used Questions)