The analysis of what happened was disappointing: the account needed better protection. As it turned out, the Telegram accounts of many friends, relatives and colleagues were also vulnerable to hacking.

There are a few simple rules to keep your account safe from scammers.

1. Set up two-factor authentication

Two-factor authentication in Telegram can significantly increase the level of security. When connecting a new device to your account – a smartphone, laptop or tablet – you must confirm authorization in two different ways.

Enabling a cloud password is an excellent solution for this. Even if the attacker can log in using the code from the SMS, he will need to enter a unique password known only to the owner.

Setting up this feature is easy. Open Telegram on your smartphone or laptop and go to “Settings – Privacy – Cloud Password”. Set a convenient, memorable password, a hint for it (just in case), and then enter your email address. Your account is now much better protected.

2. Hide your phone number from strangers

You should only show some people the phone number linked to your Telegram account. Attackers can use it for spam or hacking attempts.

To hide the number, you need to go to “Settings” again, select “Privacy”, and then open the “Phone Number” item. You can either completely hide the number from prying eyes or set up access lists there.

3. Check from time to time where your Telegram is active

You can see which devices can access your account in the Messenger settings. If you access Telegram from a smartphone, work laptop, or home PC, all these sessions will be visible there. Telegram will even show the city where the connection was made and the approximate time.

Need help to recognize a suspicious device? It’s better to remove it immediately. It doesn’t have to be an attacker – you just logged into your account from your work phone one day and then forgot about it. But caution doesn’t hurt.

To check the list of sessions, go to Settings – Privacy – Devices. Here, you can connect a new gadget via a QR code or configure the termination of sessions if they have not been active for too long.

4. Don’t buy Telegram accounts secondhand

This should not be done, even if the seller seems verified. Such an action is contrary to the rules for using the messenger. But what if you already have several accounts – for example, for work?

Go to Devices again and end all sessions if this is the first time you have done so. Then, sign in to your account again. This will protect you from dishonest sellers. Sometimes, they save archives of active sessions after selling accounts, wait some time, and “return” the funds to themselves.

5. Be careful

No two-factor protection will save you if the owner of the Telegram account himself gives the attacker the necessary data for hacking. You should only use suspicious chatbots if you are sure of their reliability. It is also not advisable to participate in various online polls sent in private messages. Sometimes, the sender does not even suspect his link is unsafe and becomes a victim of “hijacking”. Finally, you should not log in to unknown sites using your Telegram account.

Compliance with these rules does not guarantee complete account security – unfortunately, attackers’ methods are improving daily. However, the risk of losing your Telegram will be significantly reduced.

The post 5 Security Tips to Secure Your Telegram Account appeared first on ScrollTrendy.

This feature is very similar to the channels already active on Telegram and Instagram, where a similar system has been in place for some time that allows people to communicate – with photos, videos, and audio messages – with those who follow them more privately.

How WhatsApp channels will work

Channels will be part of a new tab called “Updates,” which will replace the one that only shows the new Statuses of people in your address book. In short, the channels represent a personalized feed – a more intimate Twitter – whose contents will be deleted after thirty days.

Meta has also announced a series of elements concerning privacy: the telephone number of users who enter a channel will not be visible, and the other channels to which a user is subscribed will not be visible. Additionally, admins will also be able to block screenshots and forwards from their channel.

For now, messages won’t be protected by end-to-end encryption like private WhatsApp chats.

“Channels are meant to reach a large audience, so they aren’t end-to-end encrypted by default ,” WhatsApp explained in an article posted on the official blog. “However, we think that end-to-end encrypted channels could be useful for small audiences, such as in the case of nonprofits or healthcare organizations, and we are considering offering them in the future.”

Initially, the channels will be available only to “selected organizations” in Colombia and Singapore. They will arrive “in the coming months” in other countries.

The introduction of the channels follows other innovations which, recently, are showing how Meta intends to transform WhatsApp into something more than a simple private messaging application: it is now possible to use the same account on multiple smartphones; you can choose a username instead of a phone number and has expanded functionality for groups, which can include up to 1,024 people.

The post Channels Like Telegram May Come on WhatsApp Very Soon appeared first on ScrollTrendy.