Hackers have increased their rampage these
days and are causing people many worries.
But you can be safe by following these tips.
One normally starts thinking about security
only when it gets compromised. But the
services you normally use put in a lot of
effort to keep you and your data secure.
Here’s a quick rundown of the steps you
need to follow to secure your online
presence.
1. Whatsapp
WhatsApp already uses end-to-end
encryption to secure your chats — no one,
not even WhatsApp staff members can read
your chats if encryption is on (which it is by
default). But a common scenario is losing
your phone. Before you realise the loss, a
thief will have full access to your WhatsApp
account which may include photosvideos,
personal information and messages. The
thief may also impersonate you to extract
money from your contacts. To prevent this,
lock WhatsApp with a PIN — you will need
third-party apps to do this.
In case of theft of phone with an unlocked
WhatsApp account, get a new SIM
immediately and use it to register with
WhatsApp on another device — this will
instantly deactivate WhatsApp and the other
phone.
2. Instagram
You might not want everyone in the world to
see and comment on your Instagram photos.
A simple way to enable this is by making
your Instagram account private — this
means that only those who follow you can
see your photos and new followers will
require approval from you. The other
security feature you should activate is
Manual Photo Tagging. Go to the Instagram
profile section and tap on the Photo of You
(last icon below your bio) — tap on the menu
button on top right and select tagging
options. Here you can enable `Add Manually’
— this will prevent you from being tagged in
unwanted photos. You have given third-party
apps access to your Instagram account. To
manage these apps, you will need to login to
Instagram on a computer and select ‘Edit
Profile’. In the settings page that opens up,
you will see Manage Applications section
where you can revoke access for unwanted
apps.
3. Facebook
Facebook also offers login verification and
alerts but there are a bunch of additional
options — for instance, you can set trusted
contacts (who can help you get access to
your account if you get locked out) and you
can see which browsers and apps you’re
signed in from.
One very useful feature you’ll find in the
Security Settings page is ‘where you’ve
logged in’. Let’s say you went to a friends
place and logged in to Facebook on hisher
computer, but forgot to log out when you
left.
You can use this option to sign out from any
devices — just click the link that says ‘End
Activity’. If you head to the help page,
Facebook also offers a handy wizard-style
Security Checkup that will show you old
logins, let you sign out with one click, review
your alerts and give you password tips.
4. Twitter
Apart from changing your password often,
one of the easiest things you can do to
secure your Twitter account is to use login
verification.
Once you sign in to Twitter on a computer,
from your profile icon drop down menu, click
Settings and then Security & Privacy
Settings.
Before you can use login verification, you
will need to confirm your email ID.
You can use the iOS or Android app to
complete the process. Once in a while, also
head to Twitter’s settings page and click
Apps — here, you can check which apps and
devices have access to your account.
Some may be from a couple of years ago on
older devices — you should revoke access to
the ones you no longer use or recognise.
days and are causing people many worries.
But you can be safe by following these tips.
One normally starts thinking about security
only when it gets compromised. But the
services you normally use put in a lot of
effort to keep you and your data secure.
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