With a little caution and a little common sense, you don’t have to worry about hackers. Just follow a few rules and you’ll be safe.
Why do hackers attack accounts?
Social networks like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are full of information that hackers are interested in. If they get into your account, it’s very easy for them to gain sensitive information that they can profit from themselves or resell to other cybercriminals.
What hackers can get from your account:
- Information from inbox messages (phone, email, account number).
- Payment information you use to create ads.
- The password it will try to apply to your other accounts.
- Your profile, which they may go on to use for criminal activities.
The above examples fall into the category where the intruder does not want to make themselves known. However, very often your account will be hacked by people who want to share pornography, advertisements, racist or otherwise offensive views through your profile, harming not only you but also the network of contacts you have on your profile.
How do you secure your account so that no one attacks it?
To stay safe from hackers, follow the recommendations below.
Choose a strong and unique password
Choose a password that contains numbers, capital letters and other characters. It should also be a unique password, one that you don’t use anywhere else. Are you afraid of too many passwords? Get a notepad or use a secure app to manage them.
Set up two-factor authentication
The strength of two-factor authentication is that an attacker needs two keys to get into your profile, and the second key would have to be physically stolen.
Connect your account with an active email
If your profile is hacked, you definitely want to be notified as soon as possible. For this reason, always use a valid email from which you receive mobile notifications.
Be careful about the content you create
This step is very important to protect your existing contacts. If someone has already hacked into your networks, it is important that they benefit as little as possible from such an attack. This means finding as little sensitive information as possible. So delete your inbox regularly.
How to tell if your account has been hacked
If you use one of the major social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok), you should be notified in a timely manner when a login attempt is made from a new device. You should receive an email notification that someone has attempted to log into your account. It is then up to you to either report this information (if it is an attack) or confirm it (if it is an action you approved).
However, you can also recognize a hacker attack on your wall. In most cases, videos, photos or text that you’ve never posted will appear on it. Your name or any other contact details may be changed directly on your profile. Last but not least, you will recognize the attack by not being able to log in.
What to do if your account has been hacked
Have you received a warning email? Log in to your account and change your password. Choose a unique and strong one! Just to be safe, change the password for the email you have linked to your account and online banking.
Go to your account settings and remove any devices from your account that you are not logged in from (Facebook – Settings – Security & Login – Where you are logged in).
Has he shared posts on your behalf? Let all your contacts know about it! Send them a message and explain that your account has been hacked.
Was the content shared racist or otherwise damaging? Contact the police!
What to do if you can’t log in to your account
- On Facebook, click on Forgot access to account and follow the instructions.
- On Instagram, launch the app and hit Ask for help logging in.
- On Twitter, fill out the form and click on Hacked account.