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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

Willem Boshoff’s artwork placed on Bloemfontein Campus

2011-10-21

Students viewing the new artwork on our Bloemfontein Campus
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

There was great excitement last week when Willem Boshoff’s Thinking Stone sculpture arrived and was installed near our Main Building. The black granite stone, which was quarried at Boschpoort Granite in Belfast, Mpumalanga, weighs approximately 20 tons and took about a year to polish to give it its burnished quality.

On the surface of the stone are engravings that resemble the prehistoric rock engravings of the Driekopseiland rock art site close to Kimberley. Added to the engravings are sandblasted inscriptions in six languages of verses and well-known quotes that refer to the word “rock”.

Willem Boshoff is one of South African’s most established artists and his artworks are deeply involved in relationships and focused on bringing about conversation. Willem describes the Thinking Stone as being “a place for gathering and sharing ideas, as universities should be”. The sculpture is a huge investment for our university and will, for many years to come, inspire thought, dialogue and contemplation.

Willem Boshoff’s sculpture is, to date, the largest of fifteen artworks commissioned by the Sculpture-on-Campus Project and funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund.

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