How To Secure Yourself On Social Media
India has 337 million smart phones by the end of 2018, that literally means that one out of four person is on social media. It is a source of information, entertainment as well as great connector with your relatives, friends, business associates . It has also helped to do business. But how many users know that if you are on social media platform that nothing is secret about you. Do not believe me, just search for yourself on www.pipl.com —you might be surprised at the number of companies that claim to have information about your family, income, address, phone number and much, much more.,
That’s because your personal information, including your email address, phone number and social security number, is worth a lot of money to legitimate businesses and bad guys alike. The bad guys just want to steal from you. Companies want to know as much about you as possible so they can sell you more products and services or serve you ads that are highly relevant to your needs and preferences.
It is a scary situation. There are few simple steps to protect your valuable personal information. Whatever I suggest it is a kind of prevention but not a guarantee that your personal information on social media platform will not be compromised.
1. Avoid sharing your personal information in your social media profile.
The more information you share online, the easier it’s going to be for someone to get their hands on it. Don’t cooperate.
Take a look at your social media profiles and keep them barren—the people who need to know your birth date, email address and phone number already have them. And what exactly is the point of sharing everything about yourself in your Facebook profile? If you care about your privacy, you won’t do it.
5. Turn on private browsing.
If you don’t want anyone with physical access to your computer to see where you’re hanging out online you should enable “Private Browsing,” a setting available in each major web browser. It deletes cookies, temporary Internet files and browsing history after you close the window.
Every company that advertises online is interested in knowing what sites you visit, what you buy, who you’re friends with on social networks, what you like and more. By gathering information about your online activities they can serve you targeted ads that are more likely to entice you to buy something.
For instance, the Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ buttons you see on just about every site allow those networks to track you even if you don’t have an account or are logged into them. Other times information collection companies rely on embedded code in banner ads that track your visits, preferences, and demographic information.
Care about your privacy and surf the internet anonymously by hiding your IP Address. For this use a web proxy, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or Tor, a free open network that works by routing your traffic through a series of servers, operated by volunteers around the world, before sending it to your destination.
One of the free web proxies is Hide.me. Just like its name, it will genuinely hide you. The servers offered by this site do not save any of your databases and IP addresses permanently. It also provides a subscription VPN service for its users. In addition, it is free from annoying ads and popup windows.
It is also a faster, most professional-looking proxy site.
Hide.me provides you some outstanding features such as encrypting pages and URL, blocking harmful scripts, and controlling cookies. You can also select and change your location to US, Germany, and Netherlands by its Proxy location option.
Hide.me deserves to be listed among the best free anonymous proxies that allow the users to:
Make the internet history untraceable. Immediately after you end your browsing, the URL provided by this site will be expired. That will disable any spy or hacker to steal your information by your browsing history.
Anonymously visit different websites, as Hide.me will hide your exact
7. Set up a Google alert for your name.
This is a simple way to keep an eye on anything someone might be saying about you on the web. It’s just a matter of telling Google what to look for (in this case, your name), as well as what kinds of web pages to search, how often to search and what email address the search engine giant should use to send you notifications. Set up a Google alert.
8. Pay for things with cash.
Credit card companies are selling your purchase data to advertisers. Don’t want companies knowing how much booze you’re buying or other potentially embarrassing habits? Buy things the old fashioned way—with coins and bills.
That’s because your personal information, including your email address, phone number and social security number, is worth a lot of money to legitimate businesses and bad guys alike. The bad guys just want to steal from you. Companies want to know as much about you as possible so they can sell you more products and services or serve you ads that are highly relevant to your needs and preferences.
It is a scary situation. There are few simple steps to protect your valuable personal information. Whatever I suggest it is a kind of prevention but not a guarantee that your personal information on social media platform will not be compromised.
1. Avoid sharing your personal information in your social media profile.
The more information you share online, the easier it’s going to be for someone to get their hands on it. Don’t cooperate.
Take a look at your social media profiles and keep them barren—the people who need to know your birth date, email address and phone number already have them. And what exactly is the point of sharing everything about yourself in your Facebook profile? If you care about your privacy, you won’t do it.
2. It is safer to use a Password Vault that generates and remembers strong and unique passwords.
Most people use the same password for more than one website or application. In reality, it can be impossible to remember a different one for the dozens of online services you use. The problem with using the same password in more than one place is if someone gets their hands on your password—say, through a Phishing Attack—they can access all your accounts and cause all sorts of trouble.
To eliminate this dilemma, use a Password Manager that will not only remember all your passwords, but will generate super strong and unique ones and automatically fill them into login fields with the click of a button.
Most people use the same password for more than one website or application. In reality, it can be impossible to remember a different one for the dozens of online services you use. The problem with using the same password in more than one place is if someone gets their hands on your password—say, through a Phishing Attack—they can access all your accounts and cause all sorts of trouble.
To eliminate this dilemma, use a Password Manager that will not only remember all your passwords, but will generate super strong and unique ones and automatically fill them into login fields with the click of a button.
3. Be choosy about sharing your Aadhar / PAN Card number.
Think twice about sharing your Aadhar Card and PAN Card details with anyone, unless it’s your bank, a company that wants to do a background check on you. It is also a fact that most of the websites of Government of India are also not fully secured, you are sharing your data at your own risk. If someone gets their hands on it and has information such your birth date and address they can can easily steal your identity and take out credit cards and pile up other debt in your name.
Even the last four digits of your social security number should only be used when necessary. The last four are often used by banks an other institutions to reset your password for access your account.
Plus, if someone has the last four digits and your birth place, it’s a lot easier to guess the entire number. That’s because the first three are determined by where you, or your parents, applied for your Aadhar Card. And the second set of two are the group number, which is assigned to all numbers given out at a certain time in your geographic area. So a determined identity thief with some computing power could hack it given time.
Think twice about sharing your Aadhar Card and PAN Card details with anyone, unless it’s your bank, a company that wants to do a background check on you. It is also a fact that most of the websites of Government of India are also not fully secured, you are sharing your data at your own risk. If someone gets their hands on it and has information such your birth date and address they can can easily steal your identity and take out credit cards and pile up other debt in your name.
Even the last four digits of your social security number should only be used when necessary. The last four are often used by banks an other institutions to reset your password for access your account.
Plus, if someone has the last four digits and your birth place, it’s a lot easier to guess the entire number. That’s because the first three are determined by where you, or your parents, applied for your Aadhar Card. And the second set of two are the group number, which is assigned to all numbers given out at a certain time in your geographic area. So a determined identity thief with some computing power could hack it given time.
4. Lock your Hardware Devices .
Set up your computer/laptop to require a password when it wakes from sleep or boots up. Sure, you may trust the people who live in your house, but what if your laptop is stolen or you lose it?
Same thing applies to your mobile devices. Not only should you use a passcode to access them every time you use them, install an app that will locate your device if it is lost or stolen. The app can lock it or wipe it clean data if you so desire, in that case the culprit will not be able to get access to the treasure trove of data saved on it.
And, make sure your computers and mobile devices are loaded with anti-malware apps and software. They can prevent prevent criminals from stealing your data.
Set up your computer/laptop to require a password when it wakes from sleep or boots up. Sure, you may trust the people who live in your house, but what if your laptop is stolen or you lose it?
Same thing applies to your mobile devices. Not only should you use a passcode to access them every time you use them, install an app that will locate your device if it is lost or stolen. The app can lock it or wipe it clean data if you so desire, in that case the culprit will not be able to get access to the treasure trove of data saved on it.
And, make sure your computers and mobile devices are loaded with anti-malware apps and software. They can prevent prevent criminals from stealing your data.
5. Turn on private browsing.
If you don’t want anyone with physical access to your computer to see where you’re hanging out online you should enable “Private Browsing,” a setting available in each major web browser. It deletes cookies, temporary Internet files and browsing history after you close the window.
Every company that advertises online is interested in knowing what sites you visit, what you buy, who you’re friends with on social networks, what you like and more. By gathering information about your online activities they can serve you targeted ads that are more likely to entice you to buy something.
For instance, the Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ buttons you see on just about every site allow those networks to track you even if you don’t have an account or are logged into them. Other times information collection companies rely on embedded code in banner ads that track your visits, preferences, and demographic information.
Care about your privacy and surf the internet anonymously by hiding your IP Address. For this use a web proxy, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or Tor, a free open network that works by routing your traffic through a series of servers, operated by volunteers around the world, before sending it to your destination.
It is also a faster, most professional-looking proxy site.
Hide.me provides you some outstanding features such as encrypting pages and URL, blocking harmful scripts, and controlling cookies. You can also select and change your location to US, Germany, and Netherlands by its Proxy location option.
Hide.me deserves to be listed among the best free anonymous proxies that allow the users to:
Make the internet history untraceable. Immediately after you end your browsing, the URL provided by this site will be expired. That will disable any spy or hacker to steal your information by your browsing history.
Anonymously visit different websites, as Hide.me will hide your exact
6. Use two-factor authentication.
You can lock down your social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook, Google, , Twitter and other accounts with two-factor authentication. That means that when you log in, you’ll also need to enter a special code that the site texts to your phone.
Two-factor authentication works beautifully for keeping others from accessing your accounts, although some people feel it’s too time consuming. But if you’re serious about privacy, you’ll put up with the friction.
You can lock down your social media platform such as Instagram, Facebook, Google, , Twitter and other accounts with two-factor authentication. That means that when you log in, you’ll also need to enter a special code that the site texts to your phone.
Two-factor authentication works beautifully for keeping others from accessing your accounts, although some people feel it’s too time consuming. But if you’re serious about privacy, you’ll put up with the friction.
Instagram : what to do
Inside the Instagram app, open settings, then tap privacy and security and select two factor authentication.
Enter your phone number. You will receive a text message containing a six digit code. Enter the code.
From now on, whenever you login to your Instagram account, you will receive a text message containing a temporary code. This mus be entered before log in.
This is super easy, you need not to install any additional app on your phone to receive texts. And if you loose your device or switch to sa new phone, you can still receive your login codes as long as you have the same phone number.
But Phone numbers and text messages are suscpectible to Phishing or hijacking by hackers, though it is very unlikely to happen until you are a high profile target such as a well known person. Another problem is when you are traveling abroad, receiving text message on foreign networks is quite pricey. I travel with my India's local phone number on international roaming and keeping cellular data off it facilitate you SMSs without any problem.
Setting Up An App To Authenticate Your Facebook Account
Another way to start two factor authentication is to receive a temporary code via so called authentication app . Look how it works :
On your phone, open your app store and download a free authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy.
The on Facebook website, go to your security and login settings , click 'use two factor authentication', then 'get started'. After re-entering your password, choose authentication app as your security method. From here, follow the on screen instruction.
From now on, whenever you log in to Facebook, you can open authenticator app and look for the temporary six digit code generated by your Facebook account. Enter this code before being able to log in.
The best part is that you do not need an internet or cellphone connection to receive a code via an authentication app. Most important thing is that a hijacker can not easily steal your code from an authenticator app. But on fillip side, if you lose your phone or switch to a new one, you have to regain access to your account through a recovery method such as entering a backup code or asking the app provider to reset your account, this is time consuming.
Securing Your Google Mail
Google has recently introduced Google Prompt , it is a new authentication feature for securing google account. Instead of receiving a text message with a code, you receive an authentication through a Google app asking whether the person trying to sign in is you. Hitting 'Yes' logs you in.
Step 1 : On gmail.com, go to your account setting and click 'security'. Click '2 step verification' and than click 'Add Google Prompt'
Step 2 : Click 'Get Started' and select your smart phone.
Step 3 : On your phone, open the Google or Gmail app.Google will show a device trying to log to your account. Tap ' Yes' on the prompt.
So now on , whenever you log in to your Gmail account, the Gmail or Google app will ask whether the person seeking access is you. Hitting Yes will let you login,
The method is easy. Receiving an notification requires only an internet connection. Selecting Yes is faster than typing a code.
On fillip site, not all apps and sites have a prompt based verification methods.
Physical Keys To Secure Twitter Account
Buy a security Key, such as Google's Titan security key bundle for a price.
On Twitter website, go to your account setting and click 'Set Up Login Verification', enter your phone number and than punch in the code received via text message.
In 'security key' click set up. Insert the security into a USB port, and press the button on the key. Press the button again to verify the key.
Next time when you login to 'Twitter', click 'choose different verification method' and select ' Use Your Security Key'.After plugging the key into your computer, you will be able to log in.
This is one of the most secure authentication method because physical access to your key is required for logging in. But the keys cost money. What is more some sites require you to insert the keys every time so even if you forget to carry your keys, logging in a back-up method can be little complicated
7. Set up a Google alert for your name.
This is a simple way to keep an eye on anything someone might be saying about you on the web. It’s just a matter of telling Google what to look for (in this case, your name), as well as what kinds of web pages to search, how often to search and what email address the search engine giant should use to send you notifications. Set up a Google alert.
8. Pay for things with cash.
Credit card companies are selling your purchase data to advertisers. Don’t want companies knowing how much booze you’re buying or other potentially embarrassing habits? Buy things the old fashioned way—with coins and bills.
9. Keep your social network activity private.
Check your Facebook settings and make sure only friends can see what you’re doing. Go to the settings cog in the upper right hand corner of your screen, then click on Privacy Settings >> Who can see my stuff.
On Twitter, click on the settings cog, then Settings. From there you can adjust all sorts of privacy settings, such as a box that gives Twitter permission to add your location to tweets as well as the ability to make your tweets private, meaning only people you approve can see them. You can also stop the microblogging platform from tailoring your Twitter experience based on other sites you visit.
If you use Google+, go to Home >> Settings. There you can adjust things like who can interact with you, comment on your posts or start a conversation with you.
Check your Facebook settings and make sure only friends can see what you’re doing. Go to the settings cog in the upper right hand corner of your screen, then click on Privacy Settings >> Who can see my stuff.
On Twitter, click on the settings cog, then Settings. From there you can adjust all sorts of privacy settings, such as a box that gives Twitter permission to add your location to tweets as well as the ability to make your tweets private, meaning only people you approve can see them. You can also stop the microblogging platform from tailoring your Twitter experience based on other sites you visit.
If you use Google+, go to Home >> Settings. There you can adjust things like who can interact with you, comment on your posts or start a conversation with you.
10. Don’t give our your Pin code when making credit card purchases.
Often stores will ask for your Pin code when you’re checking out with a credit card. Don’t give it to them unless you want to donate your details to their marketing database, warns Forbes. By matching your name, taken from your credit card, with your zip code, companies can more easily mine more information, including your address, phone number and email. address.
Often stores will ask for your Pin code when you’re checking out with a credit card. Don’t give it to them unless you want to donate your details to their marketing database, warns Forbes. By matching your name, taken from your credit card, with your zip code, companies can more easily mine more information, including your address, phone number and email. address.
11. Lie when setting up password security questions.
“What is your mother’s maiden name?” or “In what city were you born?” are common questions websites often ask you to answer so as to supposedly keep your account safe from intruders. In reality, there is nothing secure about such generic queries. That’s because someone who wants access to your account could easily do some Internet research to dig up the answers.
“What is your mother’s maiden name?” or “In what city were you born?” are common questions websites often ask you to answer so as to supposedly keep your account safe from intruders. In reality, there is nothing secure about such generic queries. That’s because someone who wants access to your account could easily do some Internet research to dig up the answers.
Comments
Post a Comment