Nowadays more than half of the world population are engaged in social media. Social media, unlike another internet platform, allows you to do many things in just one website.
Updating status, uploading videos and pictures, check-in in a location, playing mini-games when you are bored, enhancing your selfie with cute or funny effects, sharing information and articles without having to go to their original website, even selling and buying things, all you can do in one tab.
Social media platforms even have their own application which makes it easier for you to access. With this kind of use, no wonder people getting so addicted to social media.
Possibilities of Threats in Social Media
But whether you are aware or not, by being online on social platforms, you are providing your information to the public. Not only the ones that you share but also what you keep in your phone.
Social media will collect information such as name, date, and place of birth, your work or school, current and frequent locations, credit card information, things you have searched for in your browser and many other things which make you a quite perfect target for a scam, spam, fraud, or even lead to serious criminals like kidnapping, robbery, and murder. Even when those cases do not happen to you, your account can be used to do such crimes.
You would be surprised to know the number of danger happened in the world each day because of social media. Of course, not all of the social media users are affected, know why? Because they know how to stay safe online, do you? If you don’t, consider these tips as follows.
3 Basic Steps to Make You Safe Online
- Strong and complicated password
If you have a password with some upper and small cases, numbers, and symbols, you can say that you are secure. It is necessary to use different passwords for each social media account.
Now every other social media allows you to sign up and in using Facebook account. So once a crime knows your Facebook password, it is so easy to hack your other accounts.
To prevent such happening, you can also set your security answers up. Most social media platforms have this feature where only you know the answer.
- Restrict your Information
Most sites require specific information to verify you are a “real” person, you can provide but always opt to not showing the information to the public. Do not reveal your home address, private phone number, and financial information.
Teach yourself to be familiar with the privacy policies the platform has. When you are using a public computer, do not forget to log off and erase history.
- Be Selective is Always Wise
Third, be selective to accept or send a friend request. Be careful too with the accounts, pages, or links, do not carelessly click every information that provided.
Fake accounts or pages are everywhere. They could write, upload photo or video, or provide information to attract you to open it in your device, but end up stealing your information. Only look for the trusted with good rating ones.
Once you always remember these three tips, you are ready to be online safely!
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