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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

Inaugural lecture: Prof Pieter Verster

2005-02-16

Prof Pieter Verster from the Department of Missiology at the University of the Free State (UFS) will deliver his inaugural lecture on Wednesday 23 February 2005 at 19:00 in the CR Swart Auditorium on campus.

The topic of the lecture is Die begronding van die sending by Paulus in die lig van sy erkenning van die godheid van Christus.

Pieter Verster started his theological training in 1973 at the UFS and continued it at the University of Pretoria (UP). He obtained the degrees BA (cl) from the UFS in 1976; BA Hons (Greek cl) from the UP in 1979; MA (Greek) from the UFS in 2000;

a BD (cl) from the UP in 1979; a Post-graduate Diploma in Theology (cl) from the UP in 1980; a DD (Missiology and Religion Studies) from the UP in 1985 and a DD (Dogmatics and Ethics) from the UP in 1989.

He was honoured for academic excellence (UFS 1975), overall excellence (UP 1979) and research excellence (UFS 2004). He has visited various overseas universities and institutions in the Netherlands , Switzerland , Germany and the USA ,.

Prof Verster has also published various articles in academic journals and his books include Wie het die waarheid beet? for which he received the CUM/RSG writers’ competition prize in 1996. He has also published short stories in Tydskrif vir Letterkunde and Dolos and poems in inter alia Literator and Litnet.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

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