Affiliate marketing Secure affiliation – securing your YouTube account. Part 1
YouTube is a service that allows you to post, play and comment on videos for free. For each user, it is possible to create their own playlists and channels. No registration is required to watch content on YouTube, unlike if you want to upload your own videos, playlists and use additional functionalities. YouTube channels are run by both individuals who want to share their passions, as well as influencers or companies with the help of marketing agencies, such as Onaffiliate.
Welcome to YouTube
The basic options available to YouTube users are searching, playing YouTube videos and music, creating their own content, subscribing to other channels, interacting – commenting, liking or sharing content, as well as creating their own video library. The YouTube mobile app is available for free on Google Play and AppStore. Smart TVs and media streaming devices (PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch, various Xbox models) also support the platform. YouTube recordings can be viewed via posts embedded in social networks, e.g. on Facebook or Twitter, as well as on a website, blog or via a link in an e-mail. YouTube Premium, on the other hand, is a version that requires a paid subscription.
It provides even more features, including ad-free video viewing, downloading videos and playing them offline, background video playback, and better 1080p video quality on mobile devices. The website belongs to Google. Various stars and celebrities have made their debuts here, including Justin Bieber. The platform makes it possible for anyone to become a creator – thanks to this, many users, m.in. gamers, have started to make money on their passion. YouTube began to displace classic vlogs and became an important part of influencer marketing. As part of a Google Ads campaign, it is possible to launch two types of ads on YouTube, which is used, for example, by affiliate agencies. TrueView in-stream ads are ads that run before or during a video, some of which can be skipped, others cannot. TrueView Discovery, on the other hand, is the ads that appear next to the video.
Basic protection
YouTube offers basic, default security measures used by all of Google. Actions include encryption to keep your data private in transit, Safe Browsing, and Security Checkup. In addition, the website controls the procedures for collecting, storing and processing information, including physical security measures to prevent unauthorized access. Only Google employees, contractors, and agents who need it to process it have access to your personal information. Any person with such access is required to maintain strict confidentiality, and if they break the rules, they may face consequences including termination of cooperation.
Your data on YouTube is a feature that gives users more control over their data, and allows them to understand what data is collected and how YouTube and Google use it. The activity saved in your history is private to you, allowing you to reach the videos you’ve watched and get better recommendations and search results. YouTube also provides the ability to search in incognito mode – private browsing in a given session. In this search mode, videos from your watch history do not affect the content you see and will not transfer to the account you are logged in with.
Secure logins
As with any account you use on the web, you’ll need to set a unique, strong password to sign in to YouTube. It is worth using different passwords for all accounts, differing from each other by more than just one character. Even if one account is targeted by a cybercriminal, the others can remain safe. Your password should be at least eight characters long, contain numbers and letters, and should not contain commonly used words. A useful tip is to choose a word or acronym and insert numbers between some of the letters, add punctuation marks, and use letters of different case. For accounts created for businesses or organizations, you should change your password and recovery information every time an employee leaves your company. Private users should also change their passwords regularly – preferably once a month, and necessarily once a year. You also have to do it every time there is a suspicion of a data leak.
A hacked channel can be recovered – changes to the account that the user does not recognize, as well as the publication of videos on the channel that do not belong to him, should cause concern. To recover your channel, you’ll need to use the Google Account associated with your channel to recover and secure, undo unwanted changes, and ensure that associated channel users follow security best practices. It is also worth remembering about the security rules for storing saved passwords. For example, the KeePass password manager will work. It is better not to keep them written down on a piece of paper or on the phone, because the person taking over the device will gain access to all login details in the network in the event of an attack. It is also not a good idea to share a password with another, even a close person. Additional protection is provided by two-step verification – it requires additional action in addition to entering the password, e.g. through a dedicated application or SMS code.
YouTube accounts can contain a lot of valuable content, especially when the channel has been built over many years and the user has managed to share numerous videos with their community. In the event of a hacker attack, all this can go down the drain in an extremely short time. Therefore, it is worth preventing such situations as much as possible. Google has robust security measures by default and responds to vulnerabilities on an ongoing basis, but everyone also needs to ensure their account is individually secured. The key, of course, is to use strong passwords and monitor suspicious activity on your account, as well as use two-step verification and take a judicious approach to sharing your data. Security issues should be taken care of primarily by influencers and business owners who do not want to lose their good reputation.
