Staying Safe Online: Securing Your Reddit Account
As part of our ongoing Staying Safe Online series, we want to provide a clear guide for those looking to make their online presence a little more secure. As people continue to share more information about their lives online, these pieces of information can be exactly what a hacker or scammer is looking for. From providing helpful clues during Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) gathering expedition, giving a list of your friends and followers right to a scammer, improperly secured Reddit accounts can be a treasure trove of information, and be used by hackers to leak sensitive information.
Our friends over at Studio Sec put together a quick walkthrough on how to improve your Reddit account security right on your computer.
Securing Your LinkedIn Account from Your Desktop/Laptop
1. Login into your Reddit account.
2. Select your avatar or username from the top right corner and select the User Settings option from the drop-down list.
3. From the Settings menu, select Account
4. Within the Account area you can customize your login options
Currently, the available sign in settings include the following:
Change Password - The option to change your password to something that is strong and not easily guessable (it is recommended that you use a password manager to ensure that you don’t reuse the same password across multiple websites and accounts)
5. From the menu, select Safety & Privacy, where you can customize the ability for others to view your profile and configure your Two-Factor Authentication
The Safety & Privacy menu offers the ability to configure visibility options including the following:
People You’ve Blocked - A list of users you currently have blocked as well as the ability to block additional users
Show Up in Search Results - Choose if search engines (DuckDuckGo, Google, Bing, etc.) can link to your profile.
Use Two-Factor Authentication - Setting up a secondary authentication app that will be required in addition to your password before a successful login can occur.
Securing Your Reddit Account from a Mobile Device
Launch the Reddit app on your mobile device and select your avatar from the top right corner
2. From your Settings menu select your account under the Account Settings option.
3. Within Account Settings you can customize your account security options.
Currently, the available sign in settings include the following:
Change Password - The option to change your password to something that is strong and not easily guessable (it is recommended that you use a password manager to ensure that you don’t reuse the same password across multiple websites and accounts)
Manage Blocked Accounts - A list of all accounts you have currently blocked.
Now What?
After walking through the steps to secure your Reddit account, it is still important that you remain aware of what you’re posting and who you are connected with. Malicious actors such as scammers and hackers will often create fake profiles and try to connect with you in order to learn as much as they can about you. By following the guide above as well as being more aware of what information you put online, you can stay safe online and limit your chances of falling victim to an online attacker or scammer. Be wary of accounts that have recently been created with little to no post or comment history as this can often indicate an in-authentic/bot account. Additionally, remain aware of what subreddits you join and what content you post as this can often serve as a way for scammers or malicious actors to identify vulnerable users.
If you have other social media accounts, make sure to check out our other Staying Safe Online guides as we walk through how to secure your accounts on sites like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and more!