So, after four and a half weeks, I finally got access back to my Instagram account, and it's safe to say this entire experience has been such an eye-opener.
Yes, it actually happened.
I open my app one day and I'm signed out of Instagram.
Okay, odd, but it happens. Maybe an update or something.
So, after four and a half weeks, I finally got access back to my Instagram account, and it's safe to say this entire experience has been such an eye-opener.
Yes, it actually happened.
I open my app one day and I'm signed out of Instagram.
Okay, odd, but it happens. Maybe an update or something.
I try to log in again.
Nada.
I try FaceBook.
Same issue.
I try to reset my password and the platform tells me to go to my email.
Locked out as well.
And that's where I made a little sound that I don't think I could replicate if I tried.
Somewhere between a squeak and a gasp.
Hope that you never find yourself in a position where you can't access your accounts because I swear we all take for granted just how much of our daily lives depends on having access to them. From messaging friends and organizing meetups and work.
God, do you remember the time when we had to remember the phone numbers of others.
Y'all, we gettin' lazy.
I never realized just how important it is to keep your email and social media accounts secure until I was locked out of mine.
What's more, it's a ridiculously long-winded process to get your accounts back, so save yourself the stress and avoid that by looking after your security and privacy on the internet.
It's one of those things that you don't think will ever happen to you. Then when it does, you'll wish you had just taken a little more care.
Here's how.
Start with a Strong Password
Okay, I admit it. I was an idiot.
How many times have you heard of using a strong password for your accounts, and how often have you just ignored it, stuck with the same passwords you've had for years, and then used the same password for all your accounts?
Don't keep going like this because it's not a matter of if you'll be hacked or lose access to your account, but when.
Always use a strong password, at least for your important accounts, like your email and social media profiles.
A strong password is one that is at least eight characters long and contains a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Don't use your damn cat's name and birthday. I'm not saying that was mine, but it's far too easy.
Don't forget, you might not even get hacked by a random stranger, but maybe someone you know, like a toxic ex or jealous best friend, and if you're putting you're making it easy, you could be in trouble.
Don't Use the Same Password Everywhere
This one I did do.
Yeah, I'm silly.
The reason the hacker got into all my accounts is that they only needed one password for them all.
I got lazy, okay?!
A nice simple mistake that we can all learn from, just make sure to use different passwords for each of your accounts.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
I've seen two-factor authentication advertised everywhere.
Every website I would sign onto, the site would suggest I turn this on, and quite frankly, I just flat-out ignored the requests. I didn't even know what it was, so it didn't bother me.
That might have been an oops.
Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security that requires you to enter a code from your phone in addition to your password when logging into an account. This makes it much more difficult for someone to hack into your account, and obviously, that's the aim of the game, and it's free, and it's really good, so USE IT!
Be Careful of Sharing
Okay, so I didn't know this until I looked into after I got hacked, but what you post online matters.
No, not in the general sense. I mean the sense where there are literally so many horror stories of people get their accounts hacked and bank account details stolen from their social media posts.
For example, if you're out at dinner with friends and you take a picture and upload it, if you have your credit cards on the table, people can see the numbers on the card and may take them.
Going back to my example before, if your cat's name is your password, don't post your cat's name on the internet. You're just giving someone data that they can use.
And now with AI and bots becoming more advanced than ever, it's probably not even a human hacking your account and instead just someone's software scrapping details off your profile and giving it in a go to see if they can get in!
Be careful what you post!
Act Fast
Finally, act quickly if you find yourself in a situation where your account has been hacked. You'll be amazed by how much of your life someone can have access to when they get into your accounts.
After all, if you want to reset a password for an account, what do you do? You get a recovery email sent to you. So if they're in your email, they have access to everything.
Just contact the account provider, be it Gmail or whoever, as quickly as possible. The more time you leave your account open, the more data and information the hackers can get into.
