Yellow hat hacker definition
Yellow hat hackers (also known as social media hackers) focus on hacking social media accounts. Because they typically have criminal intentions, they are similar to black hat hackers. Yellow hat hackers use various hacking tools to hijack social media accounts for malicious purposes, such as embarrassing a brand, distributing malware, getting revenge on a person, or misusing personal information.
How to protect accounts from yellow hat hackers
- Use strong passwords. Choose passwords of more than ten characters and a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Don’t reuse passwords on several accounts.
- Set up two-factor authentication. 2FA adds an extra layer of security to your social media accounts.
- Use geotags wisely. Avoid checking in at different locations if your profile is public – you may be supplying useful information to hackers.
- Watch out for phishing scams. Think twice before clicking on a suspicious link or downloading files from social media accounts. Some links may contain viruses or malware.
- Make your profile private. When your profile is public, everyone can see what you’re doing, posting, and saying. Limiting your posts to friends or people you know gives you more privacy, which reduces your chances of getting hacked.
- Avoid suspicious friend requests. If you get a questionable friend request, best to ignore or delete it. Hackers may create fake profiles and send friend requests for malicious purposes.
