Don’t Get Hacked: Strategies for Protecting Your Social Media Accounts in 2023

In today’s web, there is no doubt you must stay vigilant, especially if you are a relentless social media user.

Social media is no longer just a place to share life events and memories and find new connections. Once you sign up for a networking app, its influence creeps into your everyday activities. It controls a big part of your life, time, and decisions.

Besides, servers of some of the most famous social networking sites retain hundreds of millions of account passwords. If they are not encrypted, this may jeopardize the privacy of your data.

Most social media platforms promise security measures to secure users’ accounts. Yet, everyone should keep a few things in mind to preserve their privacy and personal data and remain safe from scammers.

Security Measures to Keep Your Accounts Safe

Here are a few things you can do to keep hackers out of your social media accounts:

1. Keep your social media apps updated

Check that you are using the most recent version of the platform. Applying updates as soon as possible can help protect your system and accounts from cyber thieves. Such updates include security patches to defend you from the most recent known threats.

2. Enable two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one of the most dependable ways to protect accounts and apps from hackers. Most platforms recommend this function to consumers.

2FA allows a user to access their account using any two of three methods: knowledge, possession, or inherence. Instead of relying on your password, two-factor authentication will demand extra verification. It is like a fingerprint or one-time passcode for greater security.

4. Use a password manager

Individual passwords are a more secure method of protecting your social media accounts from hackers. This does not drop the potential of forgetting necessary passcodes and usernames. Bypassing this issue without jeopardizing security becomes vital, necessitating a password manager.

Password managers, as the name implies, are software tools that safely store your passwords in an encrypted database. Such programs enable you to generate as many unique passwords as you like while keeping them separate.

3. Choose a unique password for each account

Using a unique and strong password for each social account would be best.

Here are tips for a secure password:

• Use a unique combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Make sure your passwords consist of at least ten characters.
• Every six months, change your password.

The more secure your password, the more difficult it is for hackers to crack.

5. Be careful about what you share

Avoid releasing personal information online since hackers and data mining companies will pay top dollar for it.  It includes your e-mail address, phone number, and social security number.

You should also avoid sharing real-time information, such as posting images when going to a new/unknown area or attending a live event such as a wedding or any other gathering. Try to keep your social media profiles as private as possible.

Conclusion

The internet, and especially social media, can be a dangerous place. As social media advances, it will remain a haven for fraudsters wanting to steal data.

Yet, social media may be pretty safe if you know the hazards and take precautions to reduce them. Following the basic procedures outlined above can protect your social media accounts. It will keep them secure and private to a large extent.