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Don’t get hacked; protect your WhatsApp account

08 October 2020 Photo Istock

Whatsapp security — It is important to be safe when using WhatsApp. Do not leave your phone unattended when you are not close by.

There are 2 billion WhatsApp users in the world, and 1,6 billion WhatsApp users access their accounts on a daily basis.

However, it is important to also be safe when using this popular communication tool.

According to Cobus van Jaarsveld, Assistant Director: Threat Detection, Investigations and Liaison in Protection Services, it does happen that people’s WhatsApp accounts get hacked; this is a serious violation of privacy.

“It means a third party now has unlimited access to your personal chats, information, media – and in some instances, they can also masquerade as you by deleting your chats, replying to your chats, and committing crimes. That’s just the tip of the iceberg of how harmful it can be to get hacked,” says Van Jaarsveld.

He adds: “Hackers can access your WhatsApp data by various means, e.g. via WhatsApp web or registering your number on another device.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) provided the following tips to prevent one’s WhatsApp from getting hacked:

• Log out from all computers that you see in the list under WhatsApp Web. This will stop hackers from further reading your chats. However, this should be done every time you use WhatsApp web.
• Do not leave your phone unattended when you are out.
• Lock all your apps to prevent unknown people from accessing your apps.
• Do not connect your phone to unknown Wi-Fi connections, as hackers can also use the unique MAC address to access all your WhatsApp chats.
• In case your WhatsApp has already been hacked, deactivate your account by emailing support@whatsapp.com. Your account will be automatically deleted if not accessed for 30 days.
• Enable two-step verification under your WhatsApp account settings. This will add an extra layer of security to the app.
• Lock WhatsApp. It is imperative to have the AppLocker that will help you lock your WhatsApp. While WhatsApp does not offer this application per se, you can download it and the app will facilitate the use of your WhatsApp with a password or PIN. This will help to prevent anyone who has access to your phone from accessing your WhatsApp account, since they will require a password to open it.

News Archive

Main Campus elects its first black SRC president

2009-08-22

Mr Moses Masitha

Mr Moses Masitha, B.A. Philosophy student and SASCO candidate, is the first black President of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Student Representative Council (SRC) for the Main Campus.

The results for the SRC and Student Parliament of the UFS’s Main Campus were announced today after the elections, which took place on Wednesday, 19 August 2009. Mr Masitha was Vice-President (External) in 2007/2008.

This year, four organisations, namely SASCO, FF+ Kovsies, the DA and COPESM, took part in the elections. Altogether 6 174 students took part in the voting this year, while 6 926 students voted last year.

On the proportional representation SASCO obtained 48,2% votes, FF+ Kovsies 43%, the DA 5% and COPESM 3,8%.

The election was declared free and fair by Prof. Thomas Acho, Chief Electoral Officer of the Independent Electoral Agency (IEA).

“The UFS management wishes to thank the IEA for the professional manner in which they independently managed the whole election process. The management will, as always, provide our full support to the efforts of the newly elected student leadership as well as the representatives of various student organisations in the realisation of the university’s objectives,” said Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Deputy Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
21 August 2009

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