How to avoid social media accounts being hacked? Enable 2FA first!
Are you sure that your social
media account is secure? If your social media account is compromised, you’ll be
in famous, albeit unfortunate company. Those who’ve had their accounts hacked
include Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Kanye West, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, and many
more.
With the number of online accounts we have, it’s
nearly impossible to ensure that they all have a secure, yet memorable
password. Add to that the fact that cybercriminals are consistently trying to
get a hold of our login credentials, and we have a problem. Fortunately,
two-factor authentication (2FA) is on hand to significantly bolster the
security of our online accounts.
What exactly is 2FA and why is it so useful?
There are a number of methods that cybercriminals employ to obtain users’ passwords. One common method uses automated bots to enter many different email and password combinations in an effort to find a match. They also use phishing attacks— where criminals impersonate legitimate organisations to try and trick people into giving them their log-in information. Another threat may come in the aftermath of a data breach, for example, Samsung’s back in March.
2FA, as well as multi-factor authentication (MFA), adds an extra layer of security to online accounts by requiring users to provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves. The second authentication is either an SMS security code, an on-device prompt, or a fingerprint scan. This is a huge deterrent to cybercriminals because it means that even if they have a user’s email and password, they will still need the device.
According to Google, 2FA via SMS codes helps “block 100% of automated bots, 96% of bulk phishing attacks, and 76% of targeted attacks”, while on-device prompts prevent “100% of automated bots, 99% of bulk phishing attacks and 90% of targeted attacks.” Looking at the data, it is clear that enabling 2FA massively helps in thwarting cybercriminals’ efforts to hack into accounts.
How to turn on 2FA
To enable 2FA for an online account, you will need to do so through the settings menu. The feature is normally found by navigating through Settings > Privacy > Security and Account > Two-Factor Authentication. Here is a list of links to the instruction pages for setting up 2FA for popular online services:
Tips for creating strong passwords
In addition to configuring 2FA for all your accounts, you should also follow good password habits:
- Create unique, strong passwords of a decent length (8+ characters) for each of your online accounts, and change them often, particularly for the accounts containing payment information
- Use a combination of characters, numbers and symbols to add complexity to the passwords and make them much more difficult to guess
Strengthen your account security with Trend Micro
To help you manage your passwords and stay on top of your online security, use Trend Micro Password Manager. It not only supports two-factor authentication, but also provides enhanced security features. Available on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS, the app is available for you to try for FREE today. For more information about Trend Micro Password Manager, please go here.
Many of these platforms are targeted by hackers in the aftermath of data leaks, for example, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram suffered large data breaches last year. Use ID Security to stay alerted and ensure you’re never the victim of a data breach. In the event of your credentials being compromised, you’ll be the first to know — before the damage can be done!