DIGITAL SECURITY IN SOCIAL MEDIA: HOW NOT TO SHOW YOUR PASSWORDS TO THE WHOLE WORLD?
When you sign up for any social platform, your personal information and actions are stored on your account. If a hacker gains access to your account, all your information will be endangered. That is why it is crucial to protect your profile from being hacked.
Strong passwords are the most reliable way users can protect themselves.
What should your ideal password look like?
- Do not use personal information such as your date of birth, your name, or your pet's name as a password.
- Do not share the same password for different services.
- Do not create a password that is too simple.
Use two-factor authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication helps you ensure that you are the only person with access to your account. For instance, you can enter your username and password, and the site asks you to confirm your login via email or phone. Alternatively, you get access to your account only after entering the code sent to you.
Make sure your email and password have not been leaked
If you notice any unusual activity on your account, different actions on your behalf that you didn’t do, or anything else suspicious, you may have been hacked. You can use this website to check if this is the case. If you find out that your account has been hacked, change your password immediately (if it was used on other platforms, you should change it there as well).
Save your data in a messenger
Today, choosing a single messenger that meets all security criteria is quite difficult. This website provides information about the reliability of various messengers.
If you need a secure messenger right now, you can use Signal. It requires only a user’s phone number, and then everything between them remains confidential.
Keep your browser safe, too
VPN technology allows you to create virtual secure networks on top of other, less trusted networks. In other words, this technology provides a secure encrypted tunnel for accessing the Internet, meaning no one can trace your identity, data, or online activity.
Here are additional materials that may be useful to you:
- The Law of Ukraine on Personal Data Protection
- How to delete information from your phone
- Data encryption
- Online course on digital security for civil society organizations in times of war
We encourage you to learn more about security in a manual developed by the Ukrainian Volunteer Service.