It’s a common occurrence you probably know all too well. Whether your social media account has already been hacked or you’ve witnessed countless friends send apologetic messages about being hacked, along with the warning, “Don’t open anything from me!” — hacking happens. And, when it does, it’s one of the most inconvenient and frustrating acts that is potentially damaging to your privacy and security. While you can’t always prevent hackers from gaining access to your information, you can take simple steps to protect yourself. Security experts say this is the best way to protect your social media accounts from hackers.
Make Your Password As Strong As Possible
It sounds far too simple, but it’s true: the number one way you can protect your social media account is by beefing up security and choosing a steel-proof password.
“Many people choose a very weak password, so it’s best to begin there,” says Radu Tyrsina, CEO and Founder of Windows Report. “A good rule of thumb is to make it as long as possible – aim for at least 12 characters. Most social networks will ask you to use at least one upper case letter, one number, and one special character, but in reality, it’s just better to aim for a lengthy password that you can easily remember.”
Considering how many accounts you have to create passwords for (including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and any other social media account you use), it’s understandable that you might be at a loss when it comes to creating and remembering yet another difficult password. Fortunately, there’s help for that.
“You can find tools that can help you generate secure passwords, but you’ll have to keep those safe,” Tyrsina says. “Password Managers are growing in popularity, and they provide a lot of convenience and security in both free and paid versions.”
Some notable examples of password managers that Tyrsina mentions include LastPass, Enpass, Dashlane, RoboForm, and 1Password, but he says there’s no shortage of options out there. “A password manager will also do the remembering for you,” Tyrsina says. “You will only have to use a master password, which is the key to a vault where all the login details are stored encrypted. Paid versions analyze the strength of your passwords, and notify you to change them if a service has been hacked.”
And one last tip: make sure to use multi-factor authentication whenever possible, as Tyrsina reminds us that it’s free and easy to set up using a mobile phone and QR codes. “Popular tools like Google Authenticator, LastPass Authenticator, and Microsoft Authenticator will provide you with a one-time security code every time you log in on a new device, ensuring you’re the real owner of that account,” Tyrsina says.
