WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging applications worldwide, with millions of users who use it daily to communicate with friends, family and co -workers. Due to its enormous popularity, the platform is a Frequent objective for those who seek to access private information or take advantage of their users. In this context, protecting privacy is essential to prevent each person's personal information from being exposed.
This type of messaging applications store a large amount of delicate data, from conversations to multimedia files. This makes them an ideal target for possible threats. Therefore, it is fundamental Understand vulnerabilities that could put the security of our account at risk and how we can maintain the confidentiality of our interactions in this app.
Awareness about potential risks is a key to ensure that our experience in WhatsApp remains safe. As cyberbrains evolve, so do protection measures. Therefore, it is important be informed and take the necessary precautions to prevent our privacy being compromised.
You can install malware to control your WhatsApp
A hacker does not need to get your WhatsApp account, since you just have to devise the way to install a malware program on your device. With this he gets his own Fraudulent software He who does the job.
Through this type of malicious app, you can access your messages in several ways. He Malware with Keyloggers It can be executed in the background and register everything you write. This includes anything you send to your friends, including data such as user names and passwords that have been put.
Then there are others that Analyze your conversations and send them to the hacker. Even those that can Control the screen recording function of the phone, using it to record videos of everything you are doing.
Social engineering
Cybercriminals can obtain the 2FA login code requesting it, although, as is evident, they will not inform what they really want, hiding it in some way and with some excuse. This attack is aimed at 2FA codes based on SMS, where WhatsApp sends you a Six digit number that you enter the application to log in. In this case, that person who wants to deceive will contact you and will try to convince you that the six -digit number is actually for something else (which has been a mistake), asking to be told to solve it.
There is a case in which the scammers told victims that this code was actually a password for an important video call. People trusted and handed him the number without knowing that they were actually giving the offender to steal the account.
WhatsApp fake QR codes
You know that when using WhatsApp Web You must scan a code with your phone To have permission to work. There are cybercounts that manage to kidnap this process and create false websites that show malicious qr codes with which, once the scans, they will get access to your account.
It usually works as follows. The person looks for WhatsApp Web in their favorite search engine, a page that usually appears in first position. Well, scammers get false websites to appear in the first places of the search engines. This serves to deceive certain users who trust that in these places they cannot be malicious and, therefore, enter.
The false web is identical to the originalexcept that it has a malicious QR code that is able to steal user accounts. Some people do not even realize that they have provided their data after scanning the code, since everything is perfectly implemented, except because their account is not finally opened on the screen.
Call forwarding
There are another way to hack your WhatsApp. The end of this system is that decipher the 2fa protection of your accountmaking it the application itself that sends this code instead of you. This method is that when the app sends you a login code by phone, hackers can use call diversion to redirect them.
What will try is to convince you to enter the MMI code that redirect your calls to them. The most common method for this is to make you think you need to call someone and then pass that code as your phone number. When you have the configured call diversion, the cybercrime can log in and opt for a voice call to obtain the 2FA code.
What to do to stay safe
The premises to protect you from any of these cases are the following:
- No proportions 2fA codes: These types of codes are very important, so they must be their own and uncompromising. Make sure that only you know them and that no one else has access to them.
- Have common sense: When you believe that what you are asking for does not make sense or there is something strange, common sense and caution should always prevail. If a situation does not pass as it should, it is best not to keep going and cuts immediately. For example, if someone asks you to call a number and this is strange or contains symbols that are not normal, you should sound alarms in your head.
- Have an antivirus: Always protect yourself with a good antivirus. If you have the capacity to buy any, opt for those of companies as recognized as Norton, McAfee either Bitdefender. If not, you can always install other free ones such as AVAST FREE either Avira Free.
- The official website: Make sure you always enter the official website of WhatsApp Web and that you have not closed in any other that can be fraudulent. Knowing what the link is, you will no longer have any equivocal.
