A 2016 University of Phoenix survey found that roughly two-thirds of American adults knew one of their social media profiles had been compromised by hackers. On top of that, most grown-ups deliberately restrict the personal details they put online.
Unfortunately, the attackers aren't going anywhere.
Even though public awareness around digital safety and confidentiality is clearly on the rise, attackers won't be slowed down. Their whole playbook is built around spotting weak spots in your defenses and cashing in on them. Staying one move ahead of them has to be a constant effort.
There's no reason to put off tightening your social media security any longer.
Why Bother Locking Down Your Social Media?
You're well aware that bad actors are circling online. With access to just one of your social profiles, they can unleash a surprising amount of havoc. Reuse the same password across sites (and that password has already been exposed in some breach dump), or fall for one sneaky phishing message, and you're caught — sometimes without even realizing it.
The University of Phoenix report uncovered plenty of insights. The ones that matter most for our purposes are these:
"About two out of three U.S. adults who maintain personal social media accounts report knowing their accounts were breached at some point, and 86% say they deliberately post less personal information out of worry that hackers might obtain it."
Despite this heightened awareness, a third of people using social platforms still don't realize when they've been compromised. And simply knowing there's a threat doesn't mean you've neutralized it. One moment of distraction, a hectic workday, a personal loss — the timing just has to be wrong once.
So let's make this a priority. Time to lock your social profiles down for the year ahead.
First Things First: Ditch the Unused Accounts!
No matter which platform you frequent, keeping track of which profiles you still use and which ones have been left to gather dust is essential. Abandoned or dormant profiles are far easier for criminals to take over than ones that see regular activity.
Put yourself in an attacker's shoes for a second: if you abandoned a social profile, what could a criminal dig up? Names of your contacts, your workplace, relatives — and obviously, your own details. Stuff like your date of birth, your neighborhood, your hobbies. Pictures of you alongside your friends.
Every person in your friends list can already see a slice of that same information. They may not have permission to pull up your full profile, but whatever they already know about you in real life could easily be referenced. You'll be tagged in their photos. They might share links where you're mentioned.
Put simply, it gives con artists a way to slip their hooks into you by masquerading as someone you trust online. Unless you actually phone them up or chat face-to-face, there's no reliable way to confirm whether a profile is still being run by the person you know.
So when a dormant account suddenly springs back to life, approach it with caution at first. Better still, remove that possibility entirely and just get rid of profiles you no longer use. What if you turn out to be mistaken? Then so what?
No big deal. Just re-connect with them after you've verified it's really them!
Once you've handled that, we can dive into the actual mechanics of social profile protection. We've highlighted the three biggest platforms below. Follow the instructions in each one to bulletproof your account.
Locking Down Your Facebook Profile
How enormous is Facebook, really? Back in the third quarter of 2017, the company announced a record-breaking 2.07 billion people logging in every month.
The platform has rolled out tons of new privacy and safety controls over the years. Before we dive into tightening things up, though, keep this in mind: Facebook doesn't cost you a cent, but you're the product. When you consider just how much the platform has on file about you Facebook Privacy: 25 Things The Social Network Knows About You Facebook Privacy: 25 Things The Social Network Knows About You Facebook knows a surprising amount about us – information we willingly volunteer. From that information you can be slotted into a demographic, your “likes” recorded and relationships monitored. Here are 25 things Facebook knows about… Read More , you might think twice about embracing it quite so enthusiastically going forward.
Open Facebook, tap into the menu, and you'll spot two critical entries: Security and Login, and Privacy. By working through these (along with a few additional settings), you'll be able to take full command of your Facebook privacy. Our thorough Facebook privacy walkthrough The Complete Facebook Privacy Guide The Complete Facebook Privacy Guide Privacy on Facebook is a complex beast. Many important settings are hidden out of sight. Here’s a complete look at every Facebook privacy setting you need to know about. Read More spells out exactly what you need to handle.
To kick things off, open up the Where you're logged in panel inside Security and Login. This will reveal not just how much activity Facebook keeps tabs on, but what a hijacker could potentially gather by abusing your session. It's smart to hit the Log out of all sessions option to wipe that trail clean.
After that, configuring a physical security key How to Secure Your Facebook Login with a Security Key to Avoid Scams and Hacks How to Secure Your Facebook Login with a Security Key to Avoid Scams and Hacks There’s a new scam going around that could steal your Facebook account if you aren’t careful. Mobile users are at greater risk. Here’s what you need to know. Read More is a smart move for safeguarding access to your profile. This guards you against credential-stealing cons and intrusions.
And if you ever get the sense your Facebook profile has been hijacked, jumping on these four steps right away is essential 4 Things to Do Immediately When Your Facebook Account Is Hacked 4 Things to Do Immediately When Your Facebook Account Is Hacked Having your Facebook account hacked is a nightmare. A stranger now has access to all your personal information and could harass your friends and followers. Here’s what you can do to contain the damage. Read More . If everything covered so far has you questioning whether Facebook is worth keeping around, here's how to pull the plug How to Deactivate (or Delete) Your Facebook Account How to Deactivate (or Delete) Your Facebook Account If you need a break from Facebook, or if you want to stop using it altogether, here’s how you can either deactivate or delete your account. Read More .
Locking Down Your Twitter Profile
Next to Facebook, Twitter looks modest, with only around 330 million users during that same timeframe. Unlike Facebook, a large chunk of Twitter profiles are automated (the infamous "bots"), and plenty of individuals operate more than one account. So the genuine human count is probably much smaller.
That doesn't mean the danger of getting compromised or scammed is any smaller, though. Treating Twitter profile protection seriously What You Need to Know About Securing Your Twitter Account What You Need to Know About Securing Your Twitter Account Twitter accounts are juicy targets for scammers and malware distributors. Once someone compromises your Twitter account, they can send out tweets with links to scams and malware, bombarding your followers with their junk. Strengthen the… Read More is a must. Don't just march through the steps mechanically — actually grasp why each one matters and what it accomplishes.
A big piece of this puzzle is managing which third-party apps you've authorized. All it takes is one sketchy app or one shady developer to undermine your Twitter access. Resolve this by revoking apps you don't use anymore How to Disable Apps That Put Your Twitter Account at Risk How to Disable Apps That Put Your Twitter Account at Risk If you use your Twitter account to log into third-party sites, you may be putting your social media profile at risk! Here’s what to do about it. Read More . Tons of platforms let you sign in with Twitter for convenience, and those authorizations need ongoing oversight too Using Social Login? Take These Steps to Secure Your Accounts Using Social Login? Take These Steps to Secure Your Accounts If you’re using a social login service (such as Google or Facebook) then you might think everything is secure. Not so — it’s time to take a look at the weaknesses of social logins. Read More .
On a different note, if you're a fan of how Twitter feels but worry about the dangers, consider spinning up your own Twitter-style network instead. That's an option thanks to Mastodon Mastodon: What You Need to Know About the New Social Network Mastodon: What You Need to Know About the New Social Network Mastodon is out to unseat Twitter as the best microblogging social network out there — but will it succeed? Here’s everything you need to know about the newcomer. Read More , and our walkthrough covers the setup process Your Own Social Network: How to Set Up a Mastodon Instance on Linux Your Own Social Network: How to Set Up a Mastodon Instance on Linux Twitter’s echo chamber is stifling discussion. If you want to get people talking, you can create your own social network with Mastodon. All you need is a web domain and server to get started… Read More .
Locking Down Your Instagram Profile
By April 2017, Instagram had racked up a hefty 700 million users. Some of those are spam bots, sure, but the vast majority are run by actual people (or, in the case of celebrity Instagram profiles The 10 Most Followed People On Instagram: Should You Follow Them Too? The 10 Most Followed People On Instagram: Should You Follow Them Too? This is not our top 10 of Instagram. It’s actually the top 10 accounts based entirely on the number of followers each one has. Do they merit the hype? Should you follow them… Read More , their PR handlers).
Sharing pictures carries its own risks, though. A photo on its own can spill the beans — your current location, places you've visited, the company you're keeping. Details you'd probably rather strangers didn't have access to. Plenty of people have been taken in by Instagram cons before Stay Secure: 3 Instagram Hoaxes Too Many People Fell For Stay Secure: 3 Instagram Hoaxes Too Many People Fell For Take a good look at these Instagram hoaxes and make sure you don’t fall for the next one! Read More , and they will be again. Even seasoned tech users aren't immune I’m Being Used by Scammers to Steal Instagram Accounts I’m Being Used by Scammers to Steal Instagram Accounts Someone is pretending to be me online, using my name, an article I wrote, and a fake email address to hack Instagram accounts. Here’s what you can learn from it. Read More .
Keen to keep your Instagram account safe? It's straightforward.
Head into the Options menu and locate Change Password, then pick a strong password Use This Simple Trick to Create Secure, Memorable Passwords Use This Simple Trick to Create Secure, Memorable Passwords It’s hard to come up with passwords that are secure yet memorable — but here’s an incredibly easy trick that you can use that actually works. Read More . For tighter privacy, flip the Private Account toggle on. Your current followers stick around, but fresh visitors can't see your posts until you approve them. If your kids are on Instagram, this is one toggle they should absolutely have switched on. You can also switch off comments entirely and switch on automatic or manual filters to keep crude language in check.
Once that's all squared away, you'll be able to relax and focus on making your Instagram clips stand out 8 Ways To Create Unforgettable Instagram Videos 8 Ways To Create Unforgettable Instagram Videos Creating an Instagram video is easy. Making it unforgettable, however, is a lot tougher. Fortunately there are various tips and tricks that you can use to help you create a video to make an impression. Read More !
Private Isn't a One-Time Switch — Make It Stick!
Everything above should arm you with what you need to crank up the privacy on your social profiles. But there's an extra move worth making: enabling two-factor authentication How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication on All Your Social Accounts How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication on All Your Social Accounts Let’s see which social media platforms support two-factor authentification and how you can enable it. Read Mention across all of these profiles and any others you use.
This adds an extra verification hurdle every time you sign in. While two-factor authentication (2FA) isn't bulletproof 3 Risks and Downsides to Two-Factor Authentication 3 Risks and Downsides to Two-Factor Authentication Two-factor authentication use has exploded over the last decade. But it isn’t perfect, and can come back to haunt you if you aren’t careful. Here are a few overlooked downsides. Read Mention , it's currently the strongest tool in your belt for keeping accounts out of the wrong hands.
And if you want to flip the script, check out our rundown of all the ways to invite a hack What Not to Do to Get Hacked on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat What Not to Do to Get Hacked on Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat Want to get your social media accounts hacked? Here are seven foolproof ways to make it easy for attackers to break into your accounts and take over. Read Mention .
Ever had one of your social profiles hijacked? What was the fallout, and how did you wrestle control back? Share your story in the comments!
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