Research showed that people worldwide use similar common passwords that are putting their accounts at grave risk of getting hacked. Treating your credentials as an afterthought and creating passwords that contain dictionary words and personal information can expose your sensitive data and severely decrease your security.
Therefore, we created a list of tips to help you overcome some of the most common online risks that can threaten your social media accounts.
1. Create strong and unique passwords
How many passwords do you have? According to the online statistics – too much. We most commonly create passwords in a rush, and we like to use the first thing that comes to mind. Not surprisingly, a third of all passwords contain some personal information. Including information like birthdays, pets, or children’s names into your passwords can put your valuable data at risk. Only a glance over your social media can give hackers enough details to hack your accounts. Also, remember that a strong password contains a minimum of twelve characters, more precisely, a unique combination of letters, symbols, and numbers.
2. Use a password manager
The safest way to create strong passwords is not to tamper with them and let a password manager do the job for you. A password manager can generate countless random and highly secure passwords to safeguard each of your accounts. It encrypts your data and stores it safely in a cloud. This can be especially useful if your device gets lost or stolen. You’ll still be able to access all your credentials since your personal information is constantly available online and automatically backed up.
3. Don’t share your personal information
Regardless of your trust in your friends, coworkers, and family members, sharing credentials with them is never a good idea. The most common way to share passwords is via messenger or even sticky notes. Unfortunately, these practices can significantly compromise your online security.
If you want to share your credentials safely, make sure you’re using a password manager. Almost every password manager on the market has a secure password sharing option to ensure your data travels safely to another person’s device.
4. Use a multi-factor authentication
To better protect your social media accounts, consider adding a few more layers of security to your standard passwords. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) uses several verification methods to safeguard your accounts. The technology relies on combining several factors that include something you know (password or PIN), something you have (token, card, or a key), and something you are (a biometric feature like a fingerprint or face scan). A hacker will have to obtain all three verification factors to break into your account successfully and steal your personal data. However, such a situation is improbable since every time someone tries to break through the first layer of authentication, the system will alarm you and urge you to change your credentials.
5. Adjust your privacy settings
In recent years, the number of identity thefts on social media has increased dramatically, leading to social media networks changing and updating their privacy policies to protect their users better. However, too many users still keep their preset privacy settings and risk exposing their personal information to people they don’t want near their data. Therefore, check each social media platform’s privacy policy and adjust the settings to keep your profiles more private and protected.
Conclusion
Social media profiles are packed with data, making them a frequent cyberattack target. A solid cybersecurity strategy has to include the use of the right tools and the implementation of adequate security protocols and practices. Therefore, assess the level of risk you’re exposed to based on the social media you’re using, outline the changes in your cybersecurity plan and regularly update your security framework.
