In addition to creating strong passwords for all of your accounts, it’s important to protect your social networking apps with a second password on your device. That way, if your phone becomes lost or stolen, no one will gain access to your private information. You can do this by utilizing DFNDR’s App Lock feature to lock your apps. Click here to lock your Facebook app and other social networking apps with a password:

Facebook has recently taken steps to help increase user security on their website.

This new “security key” feature makes it so hackers have no way of accessing your account, even if they have access to your username and password.

The original security key offers a two-step authentication process. The first is the typical username and password. If the user gets this correct, then a message is texted with a digitized code to the user’s phone to authenticate the login. Once the user enters the code into their website, they are safe to log in.

This security key has been used for several other websites, especially for banking sites. For example, if you log in to your banking account in a foreign location, you can almost guarantee that you will be texted a code to help ensure that you are not a hacker. This is an easy step that firms can take to help minimize the amount of hackings that occur on their websites.

However, this security methodology is not a silver bullet to hacking. Specifically, hackers can change the phone settings on the website to redirect the code to their phone. Moreover, if someone has access to your phone and your login credentials, then this security key will be useless.

Facebook offers this original two-step process, but they now have a more innovative way to approach this to help circumvent this issue. There is an additional security key feature that can generate one code with the click of a button, adding an extra layer of security for the user. This helps avoid the issue of having a code sent to a phone that could be stolen.

Get rid of plug-ins
Plug-ins often leave trails of the sites you’ve used or purchases you’ve made. Specifically, they reveal your location and identity. If you want to browse anonymously, plug-ins should be some of the first things that go.

Read More: Google’s Password Alert Tool Helps Prevent Phishing Attacks

Forgo paying online with credit cards
Credit cards used in online shopping give away your information right away. PayPal, too, keeps records of you that can be tracked by hackers. The only way to remain truly anonymous while buying online is with an e-currency like bitcoin or the like. Since bitcoin isn’t used very often, though, your best bet might be forgoing online shopping entirely.

Create “burner” accounts
Burner accounts are accounts that all have different passwords and passcodes. Rather than keeping a single password that can let a hacker who gets some of your information get all of it, you should change your password for each login you create. Further, you should make sure you’re changing your passwords often.

Browse the Internet anonymously
The best way to browse anonymously is by connecting to different wireless connections, rarely visiting the same connection twice. You can also download a proxy server that doesn’t reveal your real location or IP address. A good proxy server is called ProxyGambit, which scrambles your location and IP address so you’re not traceable.

Only use certain websites
Only use websites that start with HTTP or HTTPS. These websites are anonymous, but others without these letters show your identity and location. Further, you want to make sure you’re only browsing — and definitely only buying from — websites with identity certificates.
Want another excellent way to stay protected online? Download PSafe Total for free. PSafe’s unmatched Anti-virus protection scans your phone’s SD card and files regularly so hackers won’t have a chance to steal your information. Plus, PSafe’s Memory Booster keeps your phone running as quickly as the day you brought it home.

However, Facebook has a long way to go if they wish to reclaim dominance over the messenger market. WhatsApp already has over 1 billion users worldwide. WeChat is the mobile messenger system popular in China. Line is a common messenger system in Japan, and Kakao is used widely throughout South Korea. There is hope for Facebook Messenger when you consider its other unique innovations, though. For instance, you can now conveniently request an Uber for you or your friend through the application. The messenger app can also show GIFs.

Read more: Your Digital Footprint and Why it Matters

Facebook Messenger has yet to bring in any profit, because Facebook does not try to collect revenue until a feature accumulates 1 billion users. In late 2015, Facebook Messenger fell short with 700 million users.

Facebook is already looking ahead at future endeavors that could help Facebook Messenger profit if it does reach 1 billion users. At Facebook’s developer conference in April, the idea of “bots” was introduced. These bots would represent local agencies that would message a user if they were nearby. The bots would utilize algorithms to tailor their messages to the desired audience. There could also be news bots that would message their frequent viewers whenever there is breaking news.

Facebook is constantly attempting to innovate their messenger so that they can surpass the competition. Facebook Messenger’s encryption, among several other innovations presented by Facebook, should be sufficient to keep Facebook Messenger competitive.

In the Mail.ru hack, users had their usernames, email addresses, and birthdays stolen. Some of the forums also let the hackers obtain users’ IP addresses, which could be used to figure out their locations, their phone numbers, and their scrambled passwords. The hackers were quickly able to unscramble many of the passwords, as well, using sophisticated cracking tools. One of Mail.ru’s social networks, called VK.com, had been hacked several years ago, as well.

Read More: Your Phone Can be Hacked Even When it’s Offline

A spokesperson says that the passwords hacked were nothing to worry about. According to her, the hacked passwords were all old passwords linked to outdated game projects, but the up-to-date forums and games had all been using secure authorization systems for years. Allegedly, she says, the passwords were not actually linked to email accounts, either.

Whatever the reality of the situation, the truth of the matter is that hackers have been getting more and more sophisticated. They can even gain access to your phone’s information when you’re not online. However, the only way they could have gotten access to your information in this particular hack is if you were signed up with any of the Russia-based Mail.ru forums. If not, you have nothing to worry about.

Websites with out-of-date forum protection and security flaws are also particularly susceptible to hacks like these. In this case, the hackers were able to take information by exploiting vulnerabilities in the forum’s software. Mail.ru hadn’t updated its protection software since 2013. If you want to prevent your data from getting stolen in a similar hack, you want to make sure that all of the forums where you submit your information have up-to-date security features.

Bottom line, you don’t know when the next major hack could affect the forums you frequent or the accounts you have. The best way to protect yourself is with PSafe Total. PSafe’s Anti-Virus protection scans your SD card and phone files for breaches 24 hours a day. If a hacker makes an attempt to take your information, PSafe will ensure you’re protected.

1. Telegram

Telegram is a cloud-based messaging service. This means that it can be synced across and accessed from various devices at once, including your tablet and computer. The app allows you to send files of all types to an unlimited number of people. It even offers a “Secret Chat” service, offering a second layer of encryption to keep your most sensitive information protected.

2. WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a cross-platform mobile messaging app available for iOS and Android that allows messages to be sent between all phones, regardless of the carrier. Messages are automatically encrypted, ensuring that only you and your recipient can access them (not even WhatsApp employees can view what you send). Additionally, the app offers a service allowing users to verify that messages are encrypted, so you can be totally sure your information is secure.

3. Peerio

Peerio is a recently formed startup based in Montreal, Canada. Aside from providing encrypted messaging services, the app also offers “zero knowledge” private cloud storage, which allows users to encrypt a file before uploading it to be stored online. If someone were to hack into the cloud, they could access your personal files, but they wouldn’t be able to decrypt them or read them.

4. Signal

Signal was originally designed to be an encrypted calling app. Just in the same way that written content can be encrypted, so can the spoken word. Signal encrypts your phone calls, ensuring that no one can listen in to what is being said. A newer version of the app, Signal 2.0, also supports encrypted text messages.

5. Threema

Threema is a $2.49 app that offers encrypted message services, as well as the option to program your messages to ‘self-destruct’ at a future date. This feature deletes all record of the message from both the sender’s and the recipient’s device. Additionally, Threema can be used without submitting a phone number or an email address.

For Maximum Peace of Mind…

Look no further than PSafe Total, antivirus technology that offers unbeatable protection against any and all threats. Plus, its WhatsApp cleaning service can delete large files in the app that might be slowing down your device, so you can message quickly and securely.