The 6 Best Ways To Keep Your Social Media Presence Secure
For a long time, social media has been a safe haven for people who wanted to sit under the umbrella of a secure service to talk to one another. In recent years, the number of viruses on different social media outlets has exploded, according to TechCrunch’s coverage of AVG’s “Community Powered Threat Report.â€
That said, it would be outlandish to say that social media has become a hostile environment. However, it’s wise to be aware of all the possible ways that a hacker can compromise your account, especially considering that you likely have a large chunk of your professional and personal life invested in the social sphere. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to make security your priority, especially if you have a business.
If you are not using social media, your employees are. This presents a danger, depending on what they’re talking about with friends (i.e. if they’re talking about anything work-related), or whether they access their accounts through your computers.
Whether you’re primarily focused on using social networks for personal reasons, or you prefer to establish a professional “business presence†on them, you’re going to have to dot your i’s and cross your t’s with regards to security. Nothing will protect you more than a proper policy and a set of best practices.
To help keep your social media presence secure, you can use these six best practice tips:
- Ensure that you and your employees use different passwords for each social media account. Since networks like Facebook and Twitter are highly popular, they’ll be the most targeted. Don’t use the same password for your Facebook account as you do for Gmail. Once hackers get their hands on your email, they’ll go after Facebook or Twitter, and vice versa.
- When opening a link from any social network, make sure that everyone looks twice at the URL in the address bar, especially if the link leads to a login page. Some hackers deceive them into thinking that they’re in a Facebook login page (I’m using Facebook as an example). But when they “log in,†all their login information is sent to the hacker. This immediately compromises any account. If one of the employees is an administrator in your social pages (such as a business page on Facebook, Google+, or Twitter), this will likely harm the presence you have there.
- Ensure that everyone is using HTTPS to connect to Facebook and Twitter. On Facebook, click the gear icon on the top right corner, click “Account settings,†and then go to “Security.†There, you can enable secure browsing. Twitter should have HTTPS enabled by default.
- Tell employees to choose their friends wisely. They should not accept friend requests from people who they don’t know or trust. It is paramount for people with the most access to your company’s data to practice this.
- Encourage employees to exercise this, while also exercising it yourself: Disable every feature of Facebook, and then open each one as you need it. There are some unnecessary things enabled by default that you must opt out of, which can lead to vulnerabilities in your account.
- Hold workshops with employees (preferably with assistance from a tech professional), educating them on the latest security practices and letting them know what dangers they may face on a day-to-day basis. Let them know what they can and cannot share about the work they do with you.
Try applying these tips to every social network you use. As you tighten up your security, don’t forget that this will help preserve your image. If you suffer a compromise, your reputation will be soiled one way or another.
