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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

UFS appoints honoured scholar

2010-08-16

Prof. Johann Neethling

The University of the Free State (UFS) has recently appointed Prof. Johann Neethling as a senior professor in the Faculty of Law. Prof. Neethling is a nationally and internationally recognised expert in the field of Private Law, which is also the department he will be joining.

Throughout his career, he has lectured at various universities in South Africa. He also received numerous awards, including a B1 rating as a researcher from the National Research Foundation (NRF). He enjoys considerable international recognition for his high quality research work and he is a leading international scholar in his field.

Prof. Neethling received various scholarships for research and overseas visits, the most prestigious being the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung scholarships for research on unlawful competition at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany. He also received a graduate fellowship from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He has also been awarded an NRF grant of R80 000 per year to conduct research in Belgium and The Netherlands for the period 2009-2014. He will visit these countries in September this year. Prof. Neethling also received an open invitation from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to apply for a renewed stay in Germany at any time.

He is one of the 25 professors selected by Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, to enrich the various faculties at the university. Prof. Neethling will be based in Pretoria. His primary focus will be research outputs in conjunction with the Department of Private Law in the Faculty of Law at the UFS.

Media Release
Issued by: Mangaliso Radebe
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2828
Cell: 078 460 3320
E-mail: radebemt@ufs.ac.za
16 August 2010

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