Social media becomes a significant part of our life. People enjoy posting their personal information and news about what is going on in their lives on Social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. Every business needs to use social media, organization and schools also use social media to reach out to potential employees and students as well. People concerns about their privacy on social media because it can cause damage to your company and reputation if your accounts are hacked. There is four best practices to safeguard your social media information.
Use a strong password

A strong password is the first step to secure a social media account, which should usually include upper and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, but not complicated to remember. Avoid using the same passwords that you use to access another website which is a common tactic that hackers would seek to break into your account (Driver, 2018). According to (Driver, 2018), from the Business News Daily, frequently change your password as well as company social media passwords. You should change your passwords at least once a quarter and when a staff member leaves the business. When changing a password, make sure to communicate with your team, but not via email. According to (Gonzalez, 2019), while we have numerous accounts that require passwords, he recommends three trusted password manager apps such as 1Password, Dashlane, and LastPass. These apps keep numerous accounts in one place and diversifying the actual passwords.
Add two factor authentications for every social account

When you use two-factor authentications on your social accounts, it will add an extra security layer to your accounts. According to (Driver, 2018), when people log into your social media account from the new device, location, or browser, they are required to input a code sent to the account owner via SMS, an app or email. It means you need to enter a code sent by a social media website on your phone each time you log in. Not only does this to secure you from compromised passwords, but it can also guarantee that anyone in charge of the accounts is present when logging into new devices. Applying two factor authentication to every social account is time-consuming, but if you are worried about your privacy security, you need to apply it.
A proper Privacy Setting on Social Media
The privacy of social media can also influence the safety of your real world and that is an issue that nobody wants. So, check your profiles on social media and pay more attention to how each profile helps you protect sensitive personal information. Many social networks such as Facebook give you an option to restrict access to some friends, colleagues and family members. Take benefits of improved privacy options that Facebook provides, such as blocking stranger’s messages. Before posting a status, or pictures you can control your audiences who can your posts. Go to privacy setting options you will see many contents such as selecting an audience for stuff you share, manage settings for how you connect and reviewing stuff others tag you in to protect your personal information that you want to post on the internet. These options included in the privacy settings of Facebook (Howfinity, 2018).
Here is how to make your Facebook completely Private.
What do I do if have been hacked?
Here are what you have to do after your social media accounts have been hacked. The first thing you have to do is log into your account and change your passwords if possible. Then, check the recent activities on the account and delete anything that was not posted by you. Check other accounts and your bank account to ensure that they are secure. You can get account recovery help form:
Last but not least, here is a list of some basic tips that will help you in your ways, however, this does not guarantee that you will not be affected.
- Only accept people that you know to be your friends on social media.
- Keep your social media privacy and be careful about the information on the internet.
- Do not use your social media passwords the same as other sites, especially banking sites.
- Do not click on the links that you do not know.
References
Driver, S. (2018, November 26). How to Secure Your Business’s Social Media Accounts. Retrieved February 2019, from Business News Daily: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6984-social-media-account-security.html
Gonzalez, R. (2019, September 17). How to Keep Your Social Media Accounts Secure. Retrieved February 2020, from Namecheap blog: https://www.namecheap.com/blog/keep-your-social-media-accounts-secure/
Howfinity. (2018, December 15). “How to Make Your Facebook Completely Private”, YouTube Retrieved from https://youtu.be/6VyoouopcDY