Symantec: How to protect your social media accounts

On the occasion of today's Safer Internet Day, it remains particularly important not to forget the issue of security when we are online on a daily basis, especially on social networking services.

As technology continues to permeate our daily lives, there are security settings and features that can be used to ensure that everyone's information and digital identity is under control.

Social networking

The driving force of the Internet today is social media interaction . Right now, friends are simultaneously pinning wedding party ideas to Pinterest , posting photos of their morning coffee to Instagram, promoting their favorite outfits on Snapchat , checking in to restaurants on Foursquare , uploading videos of their cats on Vine , sharing photos of their newborns on Facebook , and tweeting in hopes of hearing news about the premiere of The Walking Dead.

As these services become increasingly popular, they become more frequent targets of fraud, spam, and phishing.

Know your settings

Symantec Security Response advises social media users to familiarize themselves with the privacy settings and security services offered by each social media platform and application.

1. Public or private? By default, many of these services encourage users to share their updates publicly. Many offer privacy as a global setting, allowing you to make your profile public or private, while several offer more options, allowing users to create individual posts for everyone or specific users. Be aware of these settings before posting to these media.
2. Strong passwords and password. Use a strong password for each social media platform and do not reuse passwords on different social media platforms.
3. If available, set up two forms of authentication.  Some services like Facebook and Twitter offer two forms of authentication as an extra measure of security for your account. Typically, to log in, you need to provide a password, which is something you know. With two-factor authentication, you also enter something you already have, usually in the form of a random number or token that is sent to your phone via SMS or a number-generating app. That way, if your password is compromised, the thief will need the second form of authentication to log in.

Know your enemy

The biggest enemies of users of the majority of social media and applications are spammers and scammers who want to infiltrate social media accounts with the aim of infiltrating spam, convincing users to complete surveys or install applications.

1. Free stuff is never free. Many scammers will try to lure users with the idea that they can win free gadgets or gift cards if they complete a survey, install an app, or share a post on their social network. It's not that simple, and those who go through with it may be giving away their personal information along the way.
2. Want more followers and likes? There is always a price to pay when trying to get more followers and likes. Whether it is paying money to get virtual followers and likes or voluntarily giving up your account credentials to become a member of a “social” botnet. These tricks are definitely not worth it.
3. Current events are becoming a target for abusive behavior. Whether it's about sporting events or pop stars, celebrity deaths, popular TV series or series finales, or new gadget announcements, scammers and spammers know what's popular and will find a way to infiltrate an online conversation and trick users. This is inevitable, so think twice before clicking on links.
4. Is this photo or video of you? These types of scammers want your password and will try to get you to give it to them without your knowledge. This is phishing. If you click on the link and it takes you to a website that looks like a social network login page, don't immediately type in your passwords. Check the address that appears in the bar, so that it's not a long URL that just includes the word Twitter or Facebook. Open a new browser tab and type in…twitter.com or facebook.com to see if you're still logged in. The most common is that you're still…

Understand that as new social networking services and corresponding applications become increasingly popular and mainstream, scammers and spammers are not far behind in their attempts to exploit them.

If you understand the privacy settings and additional security features that these networks offer you, you are one step closer to safer browsing the internet.

Additionally, if you know who is interested in your information and the ways they will try to trick you into giving up information, you will be able to make better decisions about which links to click, which posts to share, and where it is safe to type your password.

Source: e-pcmag.gr