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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

World-renowned researcher and author facilitates at Kovsies

2010-03-08

The facilitator with three academics of the Faculty of Education: (from the left) Emmie van Wyk (CHESD), Jean McNiff, Annette Wilkinson (CHESD), and Adri Beylefeld (Office of the Dean).

Jean McNiff, world-renowned action researcher and author of 19 published books, created a buzz on the University of the Free State Campus last week.

She spent 23 February at the Faculty of Education. The day started off with a panel discussion between six senior staff members of the faculty and of the UFS Planning Unit. Thereafter 24 academic staff members attended a seminar where they were introduced to the methodology and conventions of action research (AR).

The full-day workshop on 24 February was attended by 30 UFS and 30 CUT staff members. The workshop – with the interesting title, Using our educational responsibilities to transform our violent histories into life-affirming futures – was participative and interactive, true to the nature of AR.

In addition to the 84 staff members who have already benefitted from these sessions, 12 staff members from the QwaQwa Campus will have the opportunity to watch the video-taped version of the workshop.

Jean McNiff's book Action research for professional development is available as a free download on her webpage www.jeanmcniff.com .

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