Security on the Internet is one issue with which one must contend; however, being protected from scammers and hackers while on social media is another problem, altogether.
With over two billion users on Facebook at any given time (25% world population) monthly, keeping up security is a daunting task, to say the least. They are attacked daily from every direction by hacking, phishing, trolling, and other vicious forms of invasive techniques. These actions are perpetrated for a number of reasons, most of which are to take your assets, compromise and steal your account enabling these criminals to use your information to perpetrate their nefarious activities on your friends, family, and acquaintances. What makes this worse, overall, is when those you think are your friends engage in activities by creating fake accounts, as one example to spy and troll others of whom they know. This compounds the problems for social media security divisions to help protect you from harm. Quite often, the individuals who engage in trolling and fake account activity are themselves compromised without knowing it. This is harder to detect and the negative effects are most profound. Users themselves can do the most good, personally by detecting and reporting activities that are against social media user policies. All users accept these policies when creating a membership profile.
Please remember that being careful in knowing who are friends to accept is important, but it is your responsibility in the process. One last thing on this note, especially on Facebook, private chat requests containing offers such as requests for donations, romance, sharing, etc., can contain malware. This is also the best way for hackers to gain access to your account. Please remember, too, that Facebook allows account creation from members as young as 13 years old.
Finally, always check the URL in your browser for authenticity. A hacker will slightly change a browser address to fool the user.
This is a warning to keep up proper passwords and use two-step verification for logins to all forms of social media, where possible. Facebook and other social media organizations constantly strive to provide the latest in security applications; however, the best they can do is stay one step ahead of the next hacking and phishing attempts. This is why it is so important for the user to be diligent in what they do to stay secure while navigating online and communicating with others on social media.
One source of excellent computer, Internet, and product information comes highly recommended via radio show host and long-term computer analyst, Kim Komando. For years, she has been at the forefront of providing excellent advice and references to security improvements, product evaluations, and computer innovations and applications. Her team and technical staff is one of the finest in broadcasting.
Here is a pertinent quote from one of Kim Komando’s latest article about phishing:
What we’re talking about is an elaborate phishing attack that is spreading like crazy on Facebook. Victims are receiving messages through Facebook from people on their “friends” list asking them for help recovering their account. The problem is, their friend’s account has already been compromised by a cybercriminal.
Here is how the attack works:
The victim receives a message through Facebook Messenger from a friend’s compromised account. The scammer asks for help in recovering their account, letting the victim know that they are listed as one of their “Trusted Contacts” on Facebook. They also say that you will receive a code, which they need to recover their locked Facebook account.
The fraudster then activates the “I forgot my password” feature on YOUR Facebook account and requests a recovery code from the social media giant. Since the victim has already received a heads-up on the code, they don’t think twice about sending it to their “friend.”
Once the fraudster has the code, they can use it to take over your account. They can continue the cycle by sending the scam to all of your friends from YOUR account.
Notwithstanding, fake news has become a prevalent threat to readers and viewers, worldwide. Now more than ever, it is imperative people ‘tune out’ from negative, derisive, and fake media sites that sway many from what real events are occurring. This takes a conscious choice from every person if there is to be an improvement in the old adage, ‘truth in broadcasting’, so please do your part. One can rest assured nothing is going to change from any organization that chooses to fool the public with false information when the true news is available. Of course, there are those who enjoy the fake entertainment. There is no solution there. Whether it is in politics, sports, entertainment, or other news, it is up to each person to determine what is real by checking sources and doing a little homework before passing judgement on what they see. Google provides excellent tools to perform these tasks. One can now just say to the Google window, ‘okay, google’.
Universal Digest is here as a friend to the public where safe surfing and reading is most important in the world of free Internet. Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment or ask questions regarding content. If one can be helped to avoid security issues, the best of solutions will be offered.
In a world of deception and derisiveness for whatever reasons, being objective, fair and truthful is more important than anything else. If just one person benefits from reading this, the proper work has been completed to enlighten the public, not to take away from understanding. Just remember, no one gets it right all the time and a prophet is correct 100% of the time. One can see, ultimately, who wants to help and not hurt others.