Protecting your social media profile and staying active at the same time may sound quite troubling at first. But it all becomes easier when you know what to look for and what to fix. Here are six ways to protect your private profile on social media.

1. Use strong, unique passwords

The most popular password is ‘password'. People are so overwhelmed with how many accounts and passwords they need that they go the easy way. Don’t do that.

You need to change your passwords regularly, preferably every three months, and use a combination of capital letters, numerals, letters and punctuation. For example, if you live on Flower Road, you can make your password ‘fL0w3rR04d!’.

2. Use two-factor authentication

You should also enable two-factor authentication or at least login verification. This feature adds an extra security layer by requiring one more authentication step after entering your password. Have in mind that it’s not every time you log in. It’s only for when you log in from an unknown device.

3. Beware of phishing scams

You receive a message saying that your account has been hacked, and you need to click the link to restore your account. You click on it, enter your login details, and voila, you’ve been hacked!

That was a fake email and a fake site, and you wouldn’t know until your information gets stolen. The key rule – don’t click on any links shared by people you don’t know.

4. Revoke access to third-party apps

During your social media life, you have probably used some third-party apps for photo editing, gaming, etc. Check whether you are still using all of the apps that you have permitted access to view your account.

We recommend revoking access to applications that are no longer in use, as well as any suspicious apps.

5. Take care of your social media accounts

Check your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram privacy settings, as well as all other social media platforms you use. In most cases, there are a few ways to manage who can see your status updates, photos, check-ins or if your profile is visible to search engines outside of those platforms.

Finally, it is always a good idea to share without oversharing. Consider an option not to use geotags – not necessarily all of your followers need to know the location of your house.

6. Use a VPN

On the final note, most of us go to social media to kill some time of our daily commute, while waiting for a bus or to post some nice pictures from a favorite cafe.

However, if you log in to your social media accounts on a public WiFi hotspot, keep in mind that you are putting your account security at risk.

If you must do that, use a VPN service, which will encrypt your Internet data and protect your identity and personal information from hackers or identity thieves.

For more information, visit www.nordvpn.com. You can also follow NordVPN on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.