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Social Networking and Social Media Security

Updated: Mar 21

Introduction:

Social networking is building upon the basic concept of traditional social networks using which users can connect themselves with different kinds of people they know or want to know. In this article, we will talk about how to deal with social media security.


Different Types of social media and their uses:

There are a total of ten types of social media platforms:

1. Social networks-To connect with people

2. Media sharing networks-Where users can share photos, videos, and other media

3. Discussion forums-Sharing news and ideas

4. Bookmarking and content curation networks- Anyone can discover, save and share new content

5. Consumer review networks-Finding and reviewing businesses

6. Blogging and publishing networks-Publishing content online.

7. Interest-based networks-Users can also share interests and hobbies

8. Social shopping networks-Online shopping

9. Sharing economy networks-Trading of goods and services

10. Anonymous social networks-Communicate anonymously


Some popular social networking sites -

There are many variations of social networking sites. Amongst these, some social networking sites are for professional use; some render information, while others help us connect to our relatives and friends. For example, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, etc. These networks are also known as relationship networks as it helps people to connect themselves online.


1. Facebook: It is a social media platform where people can create their profiles, share their hobbies, profession, etc. They can also share photos, respond, or link to the information posted by others.


2. Twitter: It is an online news and social networking site. People can communicate using short messages called tweets. In other words, tweeting is posting short messages for those users who are following you. Microblogging is another term used for Twitter.


3. LinkedIn: It is the largest professional social networking site where we can learn professional courses & make our careers brighter. A complete LinkedIn profile can help users connect with professionals & can also share their own unique professional stories through experience, skills, and education.


Media sharing networks-

Here, users can share posts like photos, videos, and other media online. Examples of sites: Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, etc. These kinds of media sharing networks give users opportunities for sharing their ideas & creations. To increase the business strategy on media sharing networks, we can see guides for marketing on Instagram, YouTube & Snapchat.


Discussion Forums-

The broad usage of these networks is for discussing and sharing ideas. It is one of the oldest forms of media where it can be an excellent resource for market research. For example, there may be a discussion forum called "Business Talk" with separate businessmen. Then other people can reply to one's ideas.


Bookmarking and content curation networks-

It is a networking site where people can discover, save, share, and discuss new, trending content. These are essential for website traffic, driving brand awareness, etc. People find help using Bookmarking networks like Pinterest to discover, save and share optic content.


Consumer review networks-

It helps to find, review, and share information about brands, products, and services, along with restaurants, travel destinations, many more, for example, Zomato, TripAdvisor, etc. Content such as reviews is of great help for adding value to many websites and online services.


Blogging and publishing networks-

It is highly beneficial to engage with our audience, build our brand, and generate leads and sales. These networks range from traditional blogging platforms like WordPress and Blogger to microblogging services like Tumblr. Some common networking sites are WordPress, Tumblr, Medium.


Social shopping networks-

It helps users to spot trends and can also follow various brands. They can share their shopping experiences with a social network of friends and contacts. The reason behind social shopping is to influence individuals by their friends' purchases and recommendations. Polyvore, Etsy, Fancy are some examples related to social shopping networks.


Interest-based networks-

These networks connect us with others around a shared interest or hobby. These networks can be a great place for engaging our audience and building brand awareness. For example, on Houzz, home designers can use collections of their work and connect with people looking for their services.


Sharing economy networks-

These kinds of networking sites, widely applied for sharing and buying products. Also, users can sell and trade products and services between peers. "Collaborative economy networks" is another term used for sharing economy that connects people online for advertising products and services.


Anonymous social networks-

It is a subcategory of social media. Its social function is to share and interact around content anonymously on mobile and web-based platforms. These networks are often funny for teenagers as they might be a place to blow off steam. Whisper and Ask.fm are examples of anonymous social networks.


Precautions for using social networking and social media sites & apps:


Manage your privacy settings: It is essential to set up your privacy and security for your social networking account. Its privacy & security settings will help users see what they are posting or manage their personal experiences.


1 Remember: once posted, always posted:

While posting pictures, videos, or any text-related posts on social media, you must think twice before doing so. Never take the risk of posting pictures you would not want to repeat in the future. Only because of these, job recruiters reject candidates based on their past pieces of information.


2 A positive online reputation is a must for users:

It is beneficial for the future growth of your account. It provides an online reputation that includes higher trust, better talent, less risk, etc.


3 Protect your computer:

By installing Antivirus software helps us to protect our computers. Security starts by safeguarding the privacy of the pieces of information stored in our computers. Your operating system, web browser, and other software should keep on updating.


4 Always Use strong passwords:

It is the most common mistake applied by users nowadays. They create passwords containing simple alphabets or meaningful words, any relevant names related to their basic details.


5 Use strong passwords:

The easiest way to make passwords secure is to apply more complex characters and must contain at least eight characters long and consists of some combination of letters, numbers & symbols (like @, #, +, -, _, etc.)


What Is a Passphrase?

A phrase that consists of a collection of common words combined randomly. Remember, an example of a passphrase is something like kicking the people out of mind, god creation is the best in all, alert alert alert, there is something new founded, etc.


How do passphrases play a vital role in our daily life?

Hacklers across the globe find an easy way to crack into our accounts by trying some of the most commonly used passwords like 123456 or the word password itself. Some more basic passwords like the user name itself with some special characters, pet's name, username can be harmful when passwords get exposed in a data breach. Hackers can use brute force attacks to unencrypt their data.


But now the question is how to beat these hackers and which type of passwords we should leverage to safeguard the account?

Passphrases are the best techniques to overcome these problems. Any passphrase will not be easy for hackers to crack as it contains a random collection of words with some special characters. There are multiple different English lists from where users can pick out along with several other languages. Mixing and matching lists can create even stronger passphrases. Now users can feel secure and can become confident with their account information.


Conclusion:

Cyber security helps us protect the data and probity of computing assets belonging to or connecting to an organization's network. Its main purpose is to defend those assets against all those threats throughout the entire life cycle of a cyber-attack.

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