How to stop getting hacked on instagram
Instagram Hacked: What to do & how to prevent it
Contents
- How to know if your Instagram has been hacked
- What to do if your Instagram account has been hacked
- How your Instagram can be hacked
- How to prevent your Instagram account from being hacked
How to know if your Instagram has been hacked
Your Instagram can be hacked. Depending on the source, between 20-25% of all social media accounts can expect to be compromised at some point. That's why it's a good idea to understand some of the signs that your Instagram may have been hacked.
- You can’t log in to your account but you’re 100% sure the credentials are correct.
- There are images on your account that you haven’t uploaded.
- You realize you’re following profiles you don’t recognize.
- Strange activity, such as spam appearing on your feed.
- Suspicious links sent to your followers via your DMs.
- Changed details such as your email address and phone number.
What to do if your Instagram account has been hacked
One billion people use Instagram every month, making it a tempting target for any hacker. If you’ve noticed that something weird is happening to your account, don't waste time searching, “my Instagram was hacked”. Follow these tips to keep your account secure:
- Change your Instagram password.
- Enable two-factor authentication for extra security.
- Report the Account Hacking to Instagram.
- Check Your Login Activity.
- Revoke access to any suspicious third-party apps.
- Make sure your phone number and email address in account settings are correct.
- Use Instagram Account Recovery. (If you cannot login to your account)
When somebody attempts to change your Instagram password or email, the app will send you a confirmation message. You can revert this change and prevent the attacker from taking over your profile.
To recover your stolen account, tap Get help signing in (Android) or Forgot password? (iOS) on the login screen and follow the instructions.
If you're still unable to recover your account, report the issue to Instagram. Once they contact you, verify your identity.
Check out our brief video on protecting your Instagram account below.
How your Instagram can be hacked
Whether or not your Instagram was hacked, it's worth understanding some of the ways how this might happen. Unfortunately, we can't cover every possible attack, but we can share some of the more common or easy-to-prevent cases out there:
- MITM attacks: When using unsecured Wi-Fi, a man-in-the-middle attack can give an attacked the chance to steal your password or other information you transmit.
- Bait and switch attack: Be careful if you ever receive a link taking you to an Instagram log-in page. It could be a scammer's site set up to look like Instagram. When you enter your username and password, they'll get a hold of them for themselves.
- Facebook link vulnerability: Many users like to link their Facebook and Instagram accounts, since both apps are owned by Meta.
This can be convenient, but it also means that if anyone breaks into your Facebook, they'd gain access to your Instagram as well.
There are too many potential avenues of attack to list them all. Your best bet is to read our blog and educate yourself about cybersecurity threats.
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How to prevent your Instagram account from being hacked
- Avoid connecting to Instagram via Facebook: Many people use Facebook to log in to Instagram and other apps, which is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. If your Facebook credentials get exposed, a hacker can seize all your related accounts in the blink of an eye. Create individual logins for every account you have — this might save you a lot of trouble in the future.
- Always use a strong password: A strong password should include letters, numbers, and special characters.
For maximum Instagram security, we recommend trying a password manager: it generates strong passwords for you and keeps them secure. And don’t forget to change your passwords from time to time, as this is one of the best practices of cyber hygiene. - Keep your password to yourself: Don't share your Instagram password with anyone. Even if you trust them, they might make mistakes that will leave you vulnerable without wanting to hurt you.
- Monitor your login activity: Instagram sends notifications via email when someone tries to log in to your account from an unexpected location or IP address. You might trigger these warnings when using a VPN, but don't ignore them. One day, they might clue you in if someone is trying to access your account. That would be a good opportunity to change your password!
Watch out for phishing: As we mentioned earlier, phishing is a common way for scammers to gain access to people's accounts.
Before entering your Instagram password anywhere, triple-check to make sure that the login link is legitimate.Phishing links can also be used to deliver malware, and NordVPN's Threat Protection feature can help you here. It will stop you from landing on malicious websites and will also stop malicious ads and trackers. It can protect your from cyber threats before they hit your device.
- Don’t talk to strangers: It’s easy to fall for a phishing attack and or a scam on Instagram, so never click on any links received from strangers. If you see that a suspicious account has followed you, block it.
- Enable two-factor authentication: Two-factor authentication is an additional step in the login process. Every time you want to access your account, you must type a code you received via SMS or an authentication app. While this might seem like drudgery and may take more time to log in, it’s worth enabling, as it adds an extra layer of security.
- Delete your Instagram account: This might not be the right choice for some readers, but if you're on the fence already, one possible solution is to simply delete your Instagram account. Reducing your security and data footprint is only one reason why some people choose this option.
- Make your Instagram private: You can easily make this change from your Instagram “Privacy” settings.
- Protect your Instagram data from third-party apps: You can stop third-party apps getting your data from your Instagram “Security” settings.
- Avoid viewing Instagram posts on other platforms: Various online articles often contain embedded Instagram videos and pictures. Clicking on these redirects you to the original post. Be careful with those links — hackers sometimes set up fake Instagram login pages to take over your password. If you have a feeling that the website you’re browsing might be shady, don’t click on any links and avoid logging in to your account.
Use a VPN: A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP address, providing you with the digital privacy we all need so badly.
NordVPN is an easy-to-use app that works across different platforms and protects you from snoopers. It helps to secure your data and avoid man-in-the-middle attacks commonly used to intercept users’ credentials.
Conclusion
Instagram is just as vulnerable as nearly any other site or app we use every day. Therefore, the best defense goes beyond any Instagram-specific defense. Maintain proper device, password, and internet security and your Instagram will remain secure along with everything else you do online. You can get started by downloading NordVPN.
Online security starts with a click.
Stay safe with the world’s leading VPN
Get NordVPN
Learn More
Which type of password would be considered secure?
Feb 03, 2021
4 min read
When creating an account on any website, you run into an inevitable dilemma: provide a weak but memorable password or a strong one that you will probably forget.
Lewis Lambert Fox
Feb 03, 2021
4 min read
Following the guidelines and rules mentioned in this article will help you practice good password security. They have been successfully tried and tested by many internet users, and we strongly recommend you to follow them.
The anatomy of a good password
Here’s how to come up with a tough password that you won’t end up forgetting ten minutes later:
- Avoid short passwords. Use passwords that contain at least 10 characters. The more characters the password has, the longer it takes for a hacker to crack it.
- Make them complex. Password strength can be achieved by including upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. The more of them, the better.
- Use password managers. Long passwords are difficult to remember, especially when you have a different one for each website or service.
You can use a powerful password manager like NordPass to help you organize your various login details. - Create mnemonics. If tools for managing passwords are not your thing, create memorable phrases instead, making sure they relate to the website or service you’ll use them for. For instance, if you sign up for a VPN service to avoid the risk of cybercrime on public Wi-Fi networks, you could create a sentence like “I like to use NordVPN to protect my money” and use it as a mnemonic for the password “Il2uNV2pm$$$.” It includes all four types of characters, is complex, moderately long and easy to remember.
- Use passphrases (the Diceware method). Although using dictionary words is not advisable (see the tips for avoiding weak passwords below), creating a combination of 6-7 random words is a good method to protect your account. Randomness is the key, though. The human brain is extremely bad at stringing together truly random words, so the EFF website provides a list of numbered words.
You roll a traditional game dice, and the numbers that come up choose the words for you. A combination like “right zebra fashion ultramarine football work” is extremely difficult to guess because of its length and randomness, but fairly easy to remember. - Use a password generator. Try the NordPass random password generator to improve your password strength and create strong yet unique passwords. With this tool, you can create passwords ranging from 8 to 60 characters and use filters to add or avoid certain characters. Then, just copy your password straight to your NordPass password manager.
Simply following these tips would be a vast improvement and instantly increase your password strength. This is especially important for online banking and other financially sensitive websites.
Avoiding weak passwords
If you’ve ever asked yourself “how strong is my password”, we must emphasize that none of the following should ever be included in your passwords, even as one of the several components.
- The 'name' part of the username;
- Names of friends, family members, pets and especially your own name;
- Personal information about your family members or yourself. That includes the general information that may be obtained very easily, such as phone number, birth date, street name, license plate number, house/apartment number, etc.;
- A sequence of consecutive letters, numbers or keyboard keys, such as “qwerty”, “12345”, “abcde”, etc.;
- A dictionary word or a combination of words, such as “blackdog”;
- Obvious substitutions, such as “blackd0g”;
- Any of the mentioned above in reverse;
- Blank password.
Password common sense
Creating a strong password is crucial, but it’s only the initial step towards better security. The way you manage your passwords later on is even more important. Usually, people know the key rules, but somehow they tend to ignore them. Let this list be a friendly reminder that will help you keep your private information safe and secure.
- Create a unique password every time. When you change a password for any of your accounts, it should not be identical to any of the previous passwords. Oh, and don’t even think about setting the same password on different websites. While it is temping, try to resist and create unique passwords for each account.
- Change the passwords for all your existing accounts at least once every 6 months. Since passwords have a fixed length, a brute-force attack to crack a password will always be successful given enough processing power and time. Therefore, it is highly recommended to change passwords regularly. Schedule your calendar to remind you to change your passwords every 6 months.
- Do not share your password with anyone. That includes your family and friends. Also, never send an email with your password included in the text. Sometimes hackers send emails pretending to be a customer support agent and asking for your username and password.
Legitimate organizations or websites never ask for your username and password via email. - In case your password gets compromised, change it immediately. Even if you only suspect that someone might have stolen your password, change it right away. Every minute counts.
- Do not use the “Remember the password” browser option without setting a master password. If you do not set a master password in a browser, anyone using it will be able to see the stored password in plain text.
- Avoid typing your password on a device belonging to someone else. It is especially important for banking websites and business accounts. It is a common practice for hackers to log all keystrokes, which allows them to see everything you type, including your logins.
A strong password is just one part of your online defense. Secure yourself with NordVPN!
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Lewis Lambert Fox
Lewis is a content writer at NordVPN and a true explorer when it comes to cybersecurity. He’s always on a mission to examine the tech world through the lens of privacy and share his findings and useful tips with blog readers.
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How to protect your Instagram account from hacking (9 simple rules) - Social networks on vc.ru
Has anyone encountered the problem of account hacking? Unfortunately, in this case, it is difficult to return the account, and sometimes it is almost impossible. So how do you protect your account from being hacked?
59 922 views
Regulation 1
Link your account to your current mobile phone, email, personal Facebook account.
Regulation 2
Enable two-factor authentication. "Settings" → "Security" → "Two-factor authentication". After enabling this feature, you will receive codes via SMS or the app to confirm actions.
Enabling two-factor authentication on Instagram Yuliya Toloknova
Rule 3
Create a complex password using letters, numbers, and symbols.
Regulation 4
Prevent third party applications from accessing your account. "Settings" → "Security" → "Apps and sites". This tab will display a list of applications associated with the profile. Disable everything you don't need.
Installing a denial of access supporter applications to Instagram account Julia Toloknova
Regulation 5
Remove access from former employees, unlink them from your business profile. If the SMM manager worked only with Instagram under your credentials, it will be enough just to change the password.
If he has access to the Instagram account through the associated Facebook page of the company, revoke it through the "Page Roles" tab. The tab is hidden very well, not everyone can find it the first time. Catch the fucking instructions.
Step 1. Log into Facebook and open your business page. Click "Settings".
Julia Toloknova
Step 2. In the "Settings" section, click on "Page Roles".
Step 3. Scroll down the page.
Julia Toloknova
Step 4. Examine the "Existing roles on the page" and keep only those that are needed.
Julia Toloknova
Step 5. Delete the selected person.
Julia Toloknova
Regulation 6
Periodically check your authorizations in Settings → Security → Account Logins. If you see incomprehensible locations in the list, change your password immediately - perhaps someone else is using your account.
Check authorization in your Instagram account Julia Toloknova
Rule 7
Hide your online status. "Settings" → "Privacy" → "Network status". The function works both ways - with a hidden network status, you will not be able to follow the online of other users.
Hide your online status on Instagram Julia Toloknova
Rule 8
Do not use Masfollowing, Massliking, Maslooking, etc. services in your promotion. These things don't work anymore!
Rule 9
Be vigilant! Don't follow unfamiliar links. Not in the mail, not in direct!
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How to protect your Instagram account from hackers
Barely a decade ago, anyone would have imagined that the social feed photo app would reach such levels of popularity – today, many people pay more attention to their Instagram alter egos than to their own children.
At the same time, the audience of the service has grown so much that some companies are ready to pay more for an advertising post in the Instagram feed than for TV commercials.
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♥ BY TOPIC: Invisibility on Instagram, or how to see when the user was online and how to turn it off.
Why Instagram is hacked
The huge popularity of the social network has increased the value of accounts many times over, which means that there are those who want to get these very accounts dishonestly. At the same time, passwords are stolen not only by owners of promoted profiles that can be used to earn money (spam mailings), but also by ordinary people who are hacked by automatic means (account data gets into the database of similar ones and is subsequently used or sold by attackers) or acquaintances from personal motives.
♥ BY TOPIC: Private profile on Instagram: what is it for and how to do it.
How Instagram account protection using two-factor verification works
Be that as it may, losing an account that has been invested a lot of effort and time in promoting is quite unpleasant, and protecting it is not so difficult. It is enough to activate two-factor authentication and link your own phone number to the profile, after which the fraudster will not be able to access the data, even if he has the correct password at his disposal.
♥ BY TOPIC: Who has the most followers on Instagram - the 40 most popular accounts.
How to set up two-factor authentication on Instagram
2. Go to menu Security .
3. Select Two-factor authentication from the list and click Start .
