8 Tips on How to Stay Safe on Social Media Networks

Social media networks have evolved from just being a platform for connecting with people to a hot platform for doing business. As social platforms become popular, they became one of the common targets of cybercrimes. So, how can we protect ourselves from these dangers? Our cybersecurity experts from Perth will give 8 tips on how to stay safe on social media.

1. Manage Privacy Settings

Most of us ignore the privacy settings on our social networks, believing the default setting is secure. Chances are that your privacy settings have loopholes that allow hackers or other scammers to access your information and view your posts. Adjusting the privacy settings will allow you to restrict strangers from viewing and accessing your information.  

Facebook: It would be best to restrict your Facebook posts visibility to friends or friends of friends. That way, hackers or scammers can’t see your photos and information.

Instagram: If your account is for a personal purpose, then it’s best to make it private so that only your followers have access to your posts and images.

Twitter: If your account is private, it’s ideal to activate the Protect your tweets toggle button, which will restrict your tweet’s visibility to only followers. Go to privacy and settings control and uncheck the Discoverability checkboxes to protect your email and phone number from hackers. 

2. Avoid Quizzes and Games that Ask for Profile Information

Most of us have come across quizzes and games that ask for permission to access our friend list or profile information to predict our soul mate or our best friend. Avoid these kinds of games because they can be information-siphoning schemes by hackers. They can use your sensitive information for scamming or other malicious actions.

3. Limit Details you Share

More and more cases of phishing and identity theft are being reported. Many of it is caused because of exposing too much detail in social network platforms. Hackers can find out your vulnerabilities through the posts and information you provide in social accounts.

So, it is best to restrict personal information shared on social media like date of birth, workplace, future events etc. You can prevent many dangers like identity theft, bank account cracking and other fraudulent acts by this.

4. Once Online Means Always Online

If you post anything on the internet, it’s going to stay there forever. Any information you post on your story or feeds can be gathered by others using screen recording or other means, making it impossible for you to erase it. Hence, it’s always wise to think twice before uploading your posts online since these data can be used against you or used to scam others using your identity.  

5. Block Suspicious Followers

Most social media platforms have features that allow you to block or report suspicious accounts. If you find suspicious or unfriendly followers or duplicate accounts, it’s best to block them. This will restrict the blocked user from contacting you, and they can’t view the posts and feeds you share in your account. 

6. Strong Passwords

You must have repeatedly heard about using strong and unique passwords for each of your online accounts, yet it is one of the most ignored security measures. Using strong passwords can prevent hackers from easily cracking your credentials. If you post your pet names and keep it as your password, chances are hackers can guess it easily and access your data. You can use password managers for managing and creating strong passwords for your accounts.

7. Avoid Duplicate Friend Requests

Verify the identity of the people who send a request to connect with you and also avoid the friend requests you feel like duplicates. Scammers can create fake accounts to trick you into believing you know the person. Since it’s easy to achieve photos and details from these platforms, the risks of being scammed also increases. It’s always to limit your friend list to accounts that you have verified to be genuine.

8. Activate two-factor authenticator

Most of the platforms allow you to set a two-factor authenticator to verify the identity of the person who is trying to access the account from a new device. Usually, you will provide your phone number, and they will send a text message will be sent to your phone. Multifactor authentication can provide your accounts with an extra layer of protection.

These are the 8 tips to stay safe on social media platforms. Since everything is going online, cybersecurity is a growing necessity now. Like to know more about cybersecurity or other related queries? Contact our cybersecurity experts or email at cybersecurity@computingaustralia.group. Our cybersecurity team is 24/7 ready to help you protect your business and data.

Jargon Buster

Password Manager – A software used to create, store and manage passwords in an encryption form.
Phishing – A social engineering attack intended to steal private information such as login credentials, credit card details or passwords.