Twitter has opened up many doors allowing you to talk to people all over the world but this type of freedom comes with big responsibilities. Whether you use your twitter account for personal use or for business, it’s vital that you protect it. There are a lot of hackers, scammers and other types of criminals out there looking for information they can use and you don’t want to be the one that gives it to them.

Protect your Twitter account with these 4 easy tips and then relax a little and enjoy all the benefits this social networking site has to offer.

Choose a Good Password

Your password is your biggest defense when it comes to protecting your Twitter account, so put some thought into it and choose a strong password that would be hard to figure out. Don’t make it easy for someone to get into your account by using your name, birthday or similar passwords that are the first thing someone trying to hack your account would use.

The goal is to come up with a password that is not easy for someone else to guess, so get creative. Use a mixture of upper and lower case letters combined with numbers and choose something that is unique to you. Keep your password private and if you have to write it down, do so discreetly and in a secure location that would be difficult for someone to know what it was for.

Always Use a Secure Site to Login

Take a few seconds to check the URL located in the browser bar to make sure you’re logging into your Twitter account using the official login page. It should read “https://twitter.com/login”. If it does not, then you could be signing in from a fake login page and your username and passwords are at risks. Don’t forget to logout when you’re done especially if you’re using someone else’s or a public computer like in a library. Otherwise, your information could be stored and the next person to use the computer will have access to it.

Think Before You Tweet

It’s important to remember that everything you put on Twitter is public, so anyone can view it. Don’t tweet information you don’t want falling into the wrong hands. For example, it’s not wise to tweet your address or phone number for all to see and then tell everyone that you go out to dinner every Friday night at the same time. If the wrong person sees this information, they will know exactly where you live and when your home is the most vulnerable. Think before your tweet!

Ignore Links You Don’t Recognize

Anytime you receive links you don’t recognize or from people you don’t know, it’s best to ignore them. If the link is from a friend, but it’s not something you would expect to get from them, you can always contact them another way to make sure they sent it, just in case their account was hacked.

Being cautious now, can save you a lot of headaches in the future, so use these 4 easy tips to help protect your Twitter account.

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About the Author

Susie MacDowell loves to teach others about Twitter and how they can get the most from their experience on Twitter, including keeping their accounts safe.