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Instagram provides a fun way of documenting your life through photos, videos, and short captions that give followers a bit (or a whole lot) of insight into your universe. And, unlike Facebook, there aren’t quite as many targeted ads or disgruntled family members on Instagram posting political memes to deal with, making it a somewhat calmer, more neutral social media site.
But you’re still sharing personal content on Instagram that can be very enticing to hackers, which is why it’s important to protect yourself on the site. This is the scary mistake you’re making when you log into Instagram, according to security experts.
The number one security mistake most of us are making on Instagram and other sites is that we keep recycling the same passwords, over and over again. When you use the same password across several sites, hackers can easily gain access to more than one of your accounts.
Your best bet is to use a password manager like KeePass or LastPass, according to security experts. Never use a straight-up word as your password. Instead, break up that word with uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers.
For example: instead of using a word like “HappyGirl” as your password, you could transform that word to “H@pP_y2gIr1”
Another great idea for making Instagram more secure? Enable two-factor authentication.
According to PC Mag: “If you're worried about someone hacking your account and posting on Instagram without your authorization, setting up two-factor authentication (2FA) is a must. By requiring a second form of authentication after you enter your password, a hacker can't access your account without physical access to your connected device, even if they have your password.”
To set up two-factor authentication: “navigate to your profile and tap the hamburger icon,” reports PC Mag. “Select the Settings menu (top of the pop-up on iOS, bottom-right on Android) and tap Security > Two-Factor Authentication > Get Started. You can then choose to set up 2FA through text message or an independent authentication app, such as Google Authenticator.”
