Connect with Us Blog Home Heartland Bank Website How to Protect Your Social Media Accounts Social media is growing and expanding each day, with nearly 3 billion people on Facebook and over 2 billion on YouTube. Platforms like these along with Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and more require usernames and passwords, but there’s always the unfortunate chance that your account is compromised. We’re here to provide you with a few simple things you can do to protect your social media accounts. Two-Factor Authentication Adding an extra step to your login process is always a good way to protect your account from being hacked. Examples of two-factor authentication include having to enter a code sent to your phone, scanning your fingerprint or using face ID in order to confirm your identity. Most social media platforms offer this as an option in settings. Try Out a Password Manager Not only is it important to have a strong password, but you should also vary your passwords across your social media accounts. If you use the same password for every account and one gets hacked, then they’re all compromised. Be sure to include numbers, upper and lowercase letters and special characters to make each password unique. It’s also smart to update your passwords periodically. Keeping track of all of them may seem tricky, but an online password manager will take care of that for you. Double-Check Your Friends Now’s a good time to go through your Facebook friends and make sure you know them all. If you get a friend request but you don’t know the person who sent it, just decline it and stick to the people you’re familiar with. One common way hackers access your information easier is by making fake accounts and sending you a request so they can see more of your personal information. Don’t Overshare Even if all of your friends or followers are people you know, you still want to be careful what you’re sharing online. Don’t share personal information like your address, social security number, financial information or other things you wouldn’t want people knowing. Think of everything you share online as permanent for anyone to access, whether it’s shared in a private group or not. See What’s Provided in Your Profile To go along with the previous point, there are some things your friends can see without harm. For example, having your hometown in your private profile usually does no harm since the people you know most likely already know this information about you. The important part is to make sure those things are private and only accessible to your friends rather than on your public profile. With new and exciting technology comes the necessity to keep your information secure, private and protected. Following the above tips and guarding your social media accounts will help you avoid hackers who can compromise your personal information. Contact us for more cybersecurity information or to learn about the financial services we offer! This entry was posted in General, Security on March 24, 2021 by Heartland Banks Blogger. Post navigation ← Money Management: Self-Employment Edition Archives March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 September 2014 Categories Budgeting Business Banking Community Community Banking financial education General Heartland Bank News Money Saving Tips mortgages Online Banking Personal Finance Personal Finances Retirement Save Money Savings Seasonal Security Taxes Uncategorized Top Gowrie 1113 Market Street P.O. Box 67 Gowrie, IA 50543 PH: 515-352-3181 View Hours Callender 425 Thomas Street P.O. Box 147 Callender, IA 50523 PH: 515-548-3223 View Hours Somers 615 6th Avenue P.O. Box 1 Somers, IA 50586 PH: 515-467-5561 View Hours Manson 1314 1st Avenue P.O. Box 730 Manson, IA 50563 PH: 712-469-2800 View Hours © 2021 Heartland Bank | All Rights Reserved | Site Created and Powered by VGM Forbin Privacy Policy | Security Statement | USA Patriot Act | Site Map