How To Protect Your Social Media Accounts From Hackers
Meta Description: A lot of times, organizations and businesses are vulnerable to hacking. Social media accounts are among the most popular targets for hackers because of the many advantages that they bring. If you use your social media account for business purposes or have personal accounts, you should keep safety in mind when doing so. You need to make sure that you are following all crucial Internet security principles and check your social media accounts regularly for any evidence that they’ve been hacked.
Introduction
Social media accounts have become invaluable for businesses, individuals, and even celebrities. Though social media is new to digital marketing, these platforms can help you build up your brand awareness and reach out to thousands of people.
With so many accounts created, hackers might gain access to your social media account without you knowing it. Protecting your social media accounts from hackers isn’t about changing security passwords. It’s about understanding the threats that websites, online accounts, and network devices face.
Have you experienced someone hacking into your Twitter account or Facebook page? If so, we can help you protect yourself from having your privacy invaded.
How Can You Tell If Someone Has Compromised Your Social Media Account?
If you’re concerned about being hacked on your social media account, the best way is to check the account frequently. If you see any suspicious activity on your account, it’s a sign that someone has accessed your account. Most likely is trying to access your personal information. Here are five ways to tell if a hacker has compromised your social media account.
- Unusual activity on your account.
Someone using your account will post new content and interact with other accounts. These posts and interactions may be time-zone based. For example, if you are in New York and have a coffee shop account, it might not make sense for someone in California to comment on that post.
Check out what’s going on at different times of the day. If something seems off, check out who’s tweeting at varying points of the day. It could be a tipoff that an outside party (not you) controls your tweets or updates.
- Receiving an email that you changed your login when you never did.
When this happens, it’s usually a sign that someone has stolen your password. The email will tell you that you need to change your password, but it’s a fake message. If this happens, contact the site and ask them if they have been hacked. If they say they haven’t, then there is a chance that someone else has gotten access to your account.
- Have trouble logging into your accounts.
If you can’t log in to any of your accounts, it could be because someone has hacked them. Contact the social media company immediately and try to reset your password. That way you can regain access to all your accounts without any issues.
- You might find out you are following people you don’t know on social media platforms.
You might find out you followed all your friends on Twitter or Facebook without knowing them. there’s a strong possibility that their account was compromised.
What Should You Do Immediately You Observe These Signs?
While there are many ways to identify a hacker, one of the most common is to search for their account on Google. You first want to check your email for any messages from a person or company claiming to be from tech support. If there’s no such message, then contact the help center:
- Twitter: https://help.twitter.com/en
- Instagram: https://help.instagram.com/
If you suspect someone compromised your account, use these steps to help recover it:
- Disconnect from all accounts linked to your email address and password. It will make it harder for hackers to access your account.
- Change your password on any other websites or apps where you’ve used the same password.
- Change your username on other accounts, so they are unique and link to your real name rather than a nickname.
- Contact all social media with which you’ve connected your email address. Request for a change of password.
How To Prevent Hackers From Hacking Your Social Media Account
Hackers are everywhere online. Even if you don’t think you need to worry about hackers, you do. There are a few ways that hackers can get into your account either by:
- They can install a keylogger on the computer where you are logging in from.
- Stealing the login credentials from another site
- Can gain access to your email and trick you into entering them when logging in.
- They can use social engineering techniques like phishing scams or fake messages.
Here are some tips on how to prevent hackers from hacking your social media account:
Stop Clicking Random Links.
It’s easy to click on a link or webpage and then leave the site without doing anything else. You might not even realize how many times you’ve clicked on a link until you look at your browser history.
A lot of people click on links without researching, so they don’t even know if the website is legitimate or not. You can save yourself from getting hacked by doing a little research when clicking on links.
Utilize Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
It’s a security feature requiring a user to provide two verification forms when logging into an account. One form of verification is something they know such as a password. The second form is something they have such as their mobile phone.
It means they’ll need a password and other information such as an app or device to get into your account. It’s the best way to ensure that no hacker can access your accounts. without having something else in their hand besides their fingers.
Add A Security Question To Your Account.
You should add a security question to your account. It will help you keep hackers from easily gaining access to your account. You can ask them questions like “What is your favorite color?” or “What is your favorite food?”
Create A Strong Password.
To ensure that your password isn’t easy to crack, use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. If you’re having trouble remembering a strong password, try a password like “myq3w0rld.” The combination is more complicated for hackers to guess. It still makes it easy for you to remember (copy/paste it into a text box).
If you’re using a password manager like 1Password, make sure you use a unique password for each site. Besides, don’t reuse passwords across many sites.
Don’t Use The Same Password For Every Account.
Each account must have a unique password so that if one gets hacked, it doesn’t affect all of them at once. Many people use the same passwords for their accounts. Once one gets hacked, they are vulnerable. Using different passwords for each account will make you less likely to get hacked in the future.
Always Log Out Of Accounts
If you’re on a computer, log out of all the different accounts you use. Hackers won’t be able to access your account after one another. and then access other accounts that way. It also makes it hard for them to find out which account you used.
Use A Secured Computer And A Secured WiFi Connection
If you’re using a public computer, hackers can quickly access your account. And if you’re using an insecure WiFi connection, your password is never truly safe. A hacker could be sitting next to you as you type it in.
Make Sure Your Software Is Up To Date
It would be best to make sure your software is up to date. You want antivirus software installed so that viruses can’t get in through any ports or wires. You can use a tool like Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to ensure that your computer has the latest security updates installed. If there are any gaps in security between devices, then hackers could get in through those points as well.
Don’t Refuse To Disable Your Cookies.
You can also disable cookies in your browser if you don’t want them to be used by a hacker. Cookies are small files that websites place on devices when they visit their sites. They help them track user behavior while they’re browsing the site.
Uninstall Third-party Browsing Extensions.
Try turning off all third-party extensions in Google Chrome and Firefox. It also includes add-ons and any other extension you have installed related to social media services.
Don’t Save Your Password.
If you have a habit of saving your passwords on your computer or smartphone, don’t do it. It is a big mistake that hackers can exploit. Instead, please write down your password in an unlikely place and keep it somewhere safe.
Enable Alerts For Unrecognized Logins.
If someone tries to log in from an unknown device or location, you will get an alert on your phone or computer. You won’t be surprised when someone tries to hack into your account.
Wrapping Up
Social media apps are a gateway to your personal information. It is crucial to do all that you can not leave this information vulnerable. There are many things you can do to secure your account. Watch for phishing attacks that can entice you to give up sensitive information. Know who you share your data with, and report any suspicious activity. We encourage you to follow all the tips we provided and help prevent hacking.
