It’s easy to feel overwhelmed at work or school these days. Between schedules packed with emails, meetings, lectures and the constant pull from social media, it feels like we never have time to do anything meaningful despite all the effort we put in.
Although we spend thousands of minutes every day on these platforms, not many of us think of our activities as risky. There are so many red flags that we ignore and neglect. The different risks stem from the careless actions we all sometimes take online when we forget about our privacy.
Even though the privacy of social networking services as a personal choice might be debatable, we have picked and curated the most common mistakes most users make and tried to explain how to avoid some of them.
1.Using the same password for all accounts on social media
Imagine your Twitter password gets leaked, and you use the same one for your Facebook and Instagram. Someone malicious can now block you from all your social media accounts, access all your private information, including your photos.
To avoid possible identity theft, you should use different passwords on different social platforms. It is also a good practice to change your passwords frequently and use strong ones.
Password manager apps and extensions on browsers can really be instrumental since it generates strong passwords for you as well let you store, organize and access your passwords from all devices. I strongly recommend Firefox Lockwise for so many reasons and one of them is being open source and free from unpleasant big tech tracking.
2. Doing quizzes is a no-go zone
What will you look like in 50 years? What do your friends think about you? With malware plugins, scammers use these tests to get your personal information.
Although Facebook quizzes seem completely harmless, don’t fall for them. Their algorithms are too simple to tell you the truth, so stay skeptical and just don’t do them.
If you still can’t resist that tempting test, check what information it requests from your profile and decide whether you really want to share it.
Last weekend, Facebook suspended and banned over 100 similar apps after the investigation against the Cambridge Analytics data leak later this year.
READ ALSO: Dangers of Using AI-based Photo Apps like FaceApp
3. Forgetting about privacy settings of your account
Social media users sometimes forget about cybersecurity as they share sensitive information and add people they don’t know to their friends’ list. Some of these strangers might be cyber troublemakers who may feed you harmful fake news or send virus links over messages. These people also get access to the pictures and other information you share with your friends.
So don’t become friends on social media with people you don’t know. You can always go through the mutual friends’ list or check the things you have in common before adding a person to your Facebook.
Even if you don’t befriend strangers, but your profile is public, anyone can scrape your data and use it for their own sneaky needs. There are some measures you can employ especially before posting anything on social media pages. You can make sure your posts are visible to only friends instead of public and make your profiles private as well to avoid random people from snooping.
4. Oversharing
Oversharing seems like the most innocent and harmless thing you can do on social media but the saying that too much of everything is like bad actually holds water when it comes to this. If you reveal too much info or sensitive things like passport number and locations, criminals lurking online can use such data to know when to break into your house or simply blackmail you.
It’s better to always keep low key don’t share your personal details, such as home address and telephone number, on your social media profiles as they can be easily accessible to anyone.
It’s better to hold off with posting things online while being away, especially ones that include your location in real-time.
5. Using social media on unsecured public Wi-Fi
The latest survey shows that 79% of public Wi-Fi users take considerable risks when choosing a network. They select a hotspot for its Wi-Fi strength, go for a name that sounds appropriate, or simply pick any free option. However, hackers use unsecured public connections to spy on people’s devices and steal their private data, including social media passwords.
Stay extra cautious when connecting to free Wi-Fi at coffee shops, hotels, and other public places, as they may be insufficiently protected. Don’t log in to your social accounts or visit sensitive websites when on public Wi-Fi. One of the best ways to safely use a free hotspot is by installing a VPN. It will make sure your internet connection is private and no sensitive data can be stolen.
