Affiliate marketing Secure affiliation – securing your Youtube account. Part 2
Signing in to YouTube requires a Google Account. It is used by many Internet users, especially those with Android mobile devices. However, Google services are also popular for iOS users or computer browsers. This is a convenient and safe option. Having your own YouTube channel allows you to interact with a wide audience, both for individuals and influencers, celebrities or large companies. This website is very popular, which is why marketing agencies use it as one of the channels to reach the audience desired by their customers.
Who needs my account?
People active in social media may face various inappropriate behaviors from third parties. Dealing with hate in the form of unfavorable comments or messages is one of the threats faced by users who share public content, but sometimes the situation becomes even more dangerous. We are talking about account theft or hacking as a result of cybercriminal attacks. In the case of YouTube, phishing is common. Fake e-mails are sent to account owners, which look like advertising offers, and after clicking on a link or attachment in them, malware is downloaded to the device or the person is transferred to a website where they enter their data, which is then taken over by fraudsters. Once the scammers take over the account, they use it for further illegal activities.
They can use the audience’s trust in creators to share their content by preying on a community that someone has already gathered in order to promote their own services, and often also to promote cryptocurrency scams. It happens that attacks are directed at very popular artists to delete the content they posted on the platform and thus take away the achievements built over a long time. Spam and malicious content are posted on hijacked channels by hackers in order to damage someone’s reputation and image.
Appropriate access sharing
YouTube channel permissions allow you to give others access to your channel’s data, tools, and features. This means that multiple people can manage a channel without access to the owner’s Google Account. Granting permissions is a more secure option than sharing your password or other sensitive login credentials. The owner has the highest role, can use all the functions available on the platform. The second most important role is the manager, but they can’t delete the channel. Slightly fewer permissions are given to: Editors, Editors (with limitations) and Subtitle editors. Other roles include Viewer and Viewer (limited).
Granting access is essential when someone creates a channel with another user or partners with a marketing agency. However, it is worth granting permissions to trusted people and in the event of, for example, termination of cooperation, take them away so that confidential data does not fall into undesirable hands. The moderator should not have the owner’s password, but it is good for them to use two-step verification and strong passwords themselves.
Be careful what you share
In the “Your data on YouTube” section, you can learn more about and manage your privacy settings and controls. The platform uses the collected data only to tailor the services to individual users, including preparing recommendations, personalizing search results or displaying relevant ads. YouTube also has a specific copyright policy – users should only upload videos they create themselves or those that they have the right to use. Still, anyone active on YouTube should be careful when sharing any data in case of a hacking attack. Particular attention should be paid to the published content. A not very safe option is to share videos in which the user brags about a new driver’s license, ID card or even an airline ticket, in a word – all materials from which private data can be read.
Due to YouTube’s regulations, controversial content is not allowed – the platform has introduced rules on child safety, sex and nudity, and self-harm. Hate speech, violent behavior, violence, malicious attacks, and content that promotes harmful or dangerous behavior are not allowed, as are regulated goods and misinformation. It is worth controlling the published content not only for the sake of your reputation and access to your YouTube account, but also for the security of your channel and protection against unwanted hacker attacks.
Watch out for…
Hackers attacking YouTube accounts often use the aforementioned phishing. On more than one occasion, there have been reports of massive attacks affecting large numbers of accounts, especially those popular on the site. Creators are vulnerable to this type of attack because the content of the messages is written by fake advertising companies that offer to advertise their goods, such as games and software. Once the account is taken over, however, the creator is no longer needed for this, as the fraudster deals with illegal activities on his own. So it’s a good idea to be vigilant about all messages you receive from unknown senders that contain clickable links or downloadable attachments. Typos and other language errors happen in such messages. Another situation is intimidation and an attempt to extort a ransom – the fraudster threatens to share falsified content on the channel that can compromise the person.
Hackers can also launch a fake live stream on someone else’s channel and promote the service in question, most often cryptocurrencies, which will provide them with a virtually certain profit. If you suspect a hacking attempt, it is worth tracing suspicious activity on your account and changing your password to a new, strong one. If your account is completely compromised, you can try to recover it by following YouTube’s recommended steps and instructions, and if you want further assistance, contact Google support directly.
YouTube allows you to gather a large community around your channel. In this way, many famous people have gained popularity. However, no place on the web is 100% safe, and the standard security offered by a given platform may sometimes not be enough. Therefore, it is worth taking additional precautions to protect your achievements and image, which is particularly important in the case of public figures and well-known brands.
