Let’s talk about Twitter account security
It sucks if you put a lot of work into building a following on Twitter (which is not exactly easy nowadays) just to find out that you can’t log into your account anymore. Or that it was locked. Or that you are suddenly following a lot of new, unknown people. By the way, those are, unfortunately, all signs that your Twitter account has been hacked.
How can you prevent your Twitter account from getting hacked
There are steps you can take to protect your account from getting hacked. We offer three ways to boost the security of your Twitter account so you can feel free to tweet away!
1. Choose a strong password
Yes, it sounds like a no-brainer because it is. The first step to secure your account starts with the basics: your password. To help you make your password more secure follow these tips:
- Use a unique password for each of your accounts. When a website gets hacked one of the first things the bad guys do is check out if your username/email-address/password combination works on other (high-profile) pages.
- Your password should consist of at least eight characters. It should include upper- and lower-cases, numbers, and special characters.
- Try and create passwords that can’t be found in a dictionary. Hackers nowadays have programs that cycle through dictionaries to check if they can access your account.
- Don’t use character strings like 12345, abcde, qweertyui, etc.
- Use passwords that can’t be associated with you: Your dog’s name, birthday dates of family members or yourself or your favorite sport are a no-go.
- Create strong, unique passwords with a password manager that will safely store and remember your un-hackable passwords for you.
2. Use Twitter’s login verification
While a secure password is a good start, Twitter offers you an additional layer of protection for your account. There login verification works like most two-factor authentication systems. Every time you want to log into your account you will be sent a text message with a six-digit login code. You’ll need both – your password and the code – to access your account.
In order to activate the login verification, go to your Twitter settings, click on Security and privacy settings and make sure the “Verify login requests” checkbox is checked. Save and continue following the on-screen instructions.
3. Be on alert for phishing attacks
Let’s make one thing clear from the beginning: Twitter will never ask you for your username and password. It just won’t happen. So don’t fall for any emails and private messages that blatantly ask you for your credentials. That’s not all to be aware of though when it comes to Twitter phishing attacks. If you get a private message that tells you that you have won something grand and that the only thing they need from you before they can send you the prize is your account information, you can assume that this offer is actually too good to be true, and rather a phishing attempt. The same goes for dubious links that are incredibly enticing. Don’t click! You will likely be sent to a fake (and probably malicious) login page. To avoid falling for the latter, always check that you’re at twitter.com before logging in.
If you are not only worried about the security of your Twitter account, we can help you check the security of your other social media accounts as well. Here you can read more about the 5 signs of a hacked social media account. Read it if you want to find out whether you are a victim or not and what to do in case you were actually hacked!
