Hearing of major social media websites being hacked isn’t a new thing anymore and that fact remains an unfortunate reality especially now that millions have shifted towards an online lifestyle. From the alarming hijacking of Whatsapp users that ballooned at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, to the more recent attacks on multiple celebrities Twitter accounts, ensuring our security on the internet has proven to be of the utmost importance. Remember, you also use your Facebook account to log into a variety of other websites, not to mention the business or community pages you might be moderating or participating in.
Right now, the fastest and easiest way to do so would be to activate the Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) option available on our social media accounts. “This process is done to better protect both the user's credentials and the resources the user can access. Two-factor authentication provides a higher level of security than authentication methods that depend on single-factor authentication,” explains Search Security.
Learn how to activate your 2FA on some of the most used social media accounts below.
How to Activate Two-Factor Authentication in Facebook
On mobile app
- Click on the “hamburger icon” on the app’s upper right-hand corner and scroll down to Settings & Privacy
- Tap Settings > Security and Login
- Scroll down to Use two-factor authentication and Turn on the feature
- You may choose the Security method that you want whether it be through a text message or the authentication app.
On web
- Click the down arrow on the upper-right corner of your feed.
- Select Settings > Security & Login
- Scroll down to the Two-Factor Authentication column and turn on the feature
If you’d rather not enter your 2FA code every time you login from a specific device, simply click on the Authorized Logins option below Use two-factor authentication. This will open up a list of devices that you’ve previously used to login to your account. Tick on the box beside your most commonly used devices and select Close once done.
Facebook's security measures also include assigning up to 5 close and trustworthy contacts to help you retrieve your account in case you've lost access to your device. You can also check the locations and devices used for recent log ins.
How to Activate Two-Factor Authentication in Instagram
- Proceed to your profile and click on the menu on the upper-right corner.
- Choose Settings at the very bottom and click on Security
- Tap on Two-Factor Authentication and set up your protection code
How to Activate Two-Factor Authentication in Twitter
- Tap on your profile icon and select Settings and Privacy
- Choose Account > Security
- Click on the Two-factor authentication option and choose your preferred security method
How to Activate Two-Factor Authentication in WhatsApp
- Proceed to the settings menu by clicking on the three dots found at the upper-right hand corner.
- Click on Account
- Proceed to Two-step verification and choose Enable
- Enter a six-digit PIN and your email address just in case you forget your PIN in the future.
If you have more apps in need of the Two-Factor Authentication process visit TwoFactorAuth.org to learn how to activate the feature on said app.
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