Hackers have increased their rampage
these days and are causing people many worries. But you can be safe by
following these tips.
One normally starts thinking about
security only when it gets compromised. But the services you normally
use put in a lot of effort to keep you and your data secure. Here’s a
quick rundown of the steps you need to follow to secure your online
presence.
1. Whatsapp
WhatsApp already uses end-to-end
encryption to secure your chats — no one, not even WhatsApp staff
members can read your chats if encryption is on (which it is by
default). But a common scenario is losing your phone. Before you realise
the loss, a thief will have full access to your WhatsApp account which
may include photosvideos, personal information and messages. The thief
may also impersonate you to extract money from your contacts. To prevent
this, lock WhatsApp with a PIN — you will need third-party apps to do
this.
In case of theft of phone with an
unlocked WhatsApp account, get a new SIM immediately and use it to
register with WhatsApp on another device — this will instantly
deactivate WhatsApp and the other phone
2. Instagram
You might not want everyone in the world to see and comment on your Instagram photos.
A simple way to enable this is by making
your Instagram account private — this means that only those who follow
you can see your photos and new followers will require approval from
you. The other security feature you should activate is Manual Photo
Tagging. Go to the Instagram profile section and tap on the Photo of You
(last icon below your bio) — tap on the menu button on top right and
select tagging options. Here you can enable `Add Manually’ — this will
prevent you from being tagged in unwanted photos. You have given
third-party apps access to your Instagram account. To manage these apps,
you will need to login to Instagram on a computer and select ‘Edit
Profile’. In the settings page that opens up, you will see Manage
Applications section where you can revoke access for unwanted apps.
3. Facebook
Facebook also offers login verification
and alerts but there are a bunch of additional options — for instance,
you can set trusted contacts (who can help you get access to your
account if you get locked out) and you can see which browsers and apps
you’re signed in from.
One very useful feature you’ll find in
the Security Settings page is ‘where you’ve logged in’. Let’s say you
went to a friends place and logged in to Facebook on hisher computer,
but forgot to log out when you left.
You can use this option to sign out from
any devices — just click the link that says ‘End Activity’. If you head
to the help page, Facebook also offers a handy wizard-style Security
Checkup that will show you old logins, let you sign out with one click,
review your alerts and give you password tips.
4. Twitter
Apart from changing your password often,
one of the easiest things you can do to secure your Twitter account is
to use login verification.
Once you sign in to Twitter on a
computer, from your profile icon drop down menu, click Settings and then
Security & Privacy Settings.
Before you can use login verification, you will need to confirm your email ID.
You can use the iOS or Android app to
complete the process. Once in a while, also head to Twitter’s settings
page and click Apps — here, you can check which apps and devices have
access to your account.
Some may be from a couple of years ago on older devices — you should revoke access to the ones you no longer use or recognise.
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– Information Nigeria
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