With millions of people around the world using social media sites on a daily basis, there’s no doubt that there can be benefits galore for businesses that use Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and the like to promote their products, services, and brand. Indeed, these days most firms incorporate some type of social media work into their operations, and many companies around the world have expanded hugely because of their success in this area of marketing.
However, it’s also important to keep in mind that there can be some security issues with social media sites. To counteract this, there are various strategies you can employ. From choosing to buy top internet security software to keep your business systems safe, to staying up to date on common scams and more, you can be proactive and take a stand against online hacking. Read on for how you can stay safe from social media cyberattacks today.
Buy Security Software
The first simple tactic to protect you and your staff when using social media sites is to have quality internet security software installed on your computers. Do some research when purchasing this software so that you can get the maximum protection possible, and look for products that are designed to safeguard whatever particular operating systems you use, such as iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, or other.
The best security software options will come with a variety of features for extensive cover. Try to buy a product that provides your computer with advanced virus protection, and that can guard against identity theft. As well, look for a software solution that works to maintain your privacy, blocks potentially harmful websites and emails, and that keeps your online data on social media sites (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram) safe from hackers.
In addition, the top software products will also block any phishing emails that you are sent, identify apps that are purely designed to steal data, and provide a password management tool for all of your online accounts. Many professional-grade solutions will also work to improve the performance of your computer; and be able to limit your staff’s access to inappropriate websites and have control over which apps they’re able to access from work devices.
Don’t Post Personal Information
Another way to ensure that hackers don’t get access to your sensitive data is by being very careful about what information you actually choose to post online. Cybercriminals love to utilize social media sites to mine for pertinent details they can use to break into your system, so make sure that you and your team always think before you post — you never know who is going to read the information for nefarious reasons.
Thieves often break into financial, customer, and other types of accounts simply by guessing which passwords are used to safeguard them. They will often be able to come up with solid guesses purely from reading social media posts that list details like birth dates, pet names, home towns, lucky numbers, the names of children and spouses, favorite songs or movies, and the like.
You can keep cybercriminals at bay by spending a little time customizing your privacy settings on all of your social media sites. This way, only people you know well and that you trust will have access to your online updates, and not hackers. If you are running business accounts and can’t be so choosy about who sees your updates, just make sure that you and your team never post sensitive company information that hackers could use against you.
Stay Up-to-Date on Common Scams
Lastly, a really helpful way to avoid trouble caused by social media usage is to be aware of common scams used by hackers. Every time you and your team use sites like Facebook and Twitter, you should know what potential scams to look out for and therefore avoid. While cybercriminals can come up with new schemes on a regular basis, there are some scams that are used over and again and that are easy to spot once you’re familiar with the tactics.
One such common scam is known as “clickjacking.” This is a strategy that is often used on social media websites, and involves hackers posting fake yet seemingly fascinating headlines that are supposedly the latest news items being reported. The idea of these posts is that the sensational headlines attract lots of interest and get many people to click on a link in order to read the information. However, what you’ll find if you do click through is that you are instead redirected to a link that has been embedded with a malicious code. An internet security program can scan sites to see if they are safe to click on.
