Do you know, by blindly following trends and using hashtags you can be the victim of cyber crime? : #couplechallenge

Awareness is necessity

"Nohashtag challenges"

Nowadays, #couplechallenge, #smilechallenge, #chirichchallenge trending on social media platforms. But do you know the history of hashtags?

Lets see, how hashtag was invented.

Chris Messina a product designer who has been working in Silicon Valley created the idea of hashtag. He and his small group of colleagues were thinking that twitter needs some kind of frame work. He got the idea of hashtag from internet chat room that had pound symbol in front of them.

His main idea to create hashtag was for the internet and wanted that anybody writing text on internet be able to participate in global conversation. In 2007, he asked one of his friends to use #sandiego for his tweets and this way the use of hashtag started.

In 2009, Twitter added the option of hashtag to its search bar. And this way hashtag became a trend. This trend then being followed by other apps like tumbler, Facebook, instagram and other social media platform.

Initially hashtags were used for global conversations, trending topics and other important conversations. But in recent scenarios, hashtags are widely used for challenges like #couplechallenge, #smilechallenge, #chirichchallange and many more. Most people are blindly following the trend and posting their photos on social media platform.

But do you know by blindly following such trends and using hashtags you can be the victim of cyber crime?

In a recent case in Delhi, a man morphed a women’s photo to malign/deteriorate her image likely because of her political connections.

Morphing is basically smooth changes made in images using computer animation techniques.

Becareful about your social media posting !!

If you are using hashtags and posting your pictures on social media platform then you are more prone to crime related to morphing. For example, we post a picture with #couplechallange and social media privacy setting is set to private or just friends. We feel that it is shared just with our friends. But when we use hashtag it is not private anymore. Whenever anyone writes #couplechallange in the search box he/she can easily get access to your photos even if they are not in your friend list.

So what we conclude from this is that don’t ever blindly follow such trends. And even if you want to post your pictures keep your account private and don’t use hashtags.

Comments

How to Pass CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 in 2 Months (839 Score Breakdown + Resources)

How I Scored 839/900 on CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 — 2-Month Prep Strategy That Actually Worked Score: 839/900 | Exam: CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 | Prep Time: 2 Months | Total Questions: 76 (including 3 PBQs) I'm not going to sugarcoat it — CompTIA Security+ is not easy, but it is very passable with the right strategy. I cleared it with an 839 out of 900, and in this post I'll share exactly how I did it, domain by domain, so you can replicate the approach without wasting time. My 2-Month Study Plan Month 1 — Domain-by-domain study: Read, take notes, and build comparison tables and mnemonics for tricky concepts. Month 2 — Heavy practice testing: Full focus on practice tests and PBQ simulations. Time management drills every session. The biggest mistake people make is spending 90% of their time reading and only 10% practicing. I flipped that in month 2 — and it made all the difference. Domain 1 — General Security Concepts What to focu...

Every SOC Analyst Must Know These Windows Event IDs — Here's Why

Imagine you are the security guard of a massive office building. Every time someone enters, leaves, opens a cabinet, or tries to break in — it gets recorded in a logbook. Now imagine if that logbook could automatically tell you when something suspicious happened. That is exactly what Windows Event Logs are — the logbook of your Windows system, and for a SOC analyst, it is the single most important source of truth. In this blog, we will break down Windows Event Logs from scratch — what they are, how to read them, how to query them like a pro using PowerShell, and most importantly, which Event IDs you must memorize for your SOC analyst interview. Let's dive in. 1. What Are Windows Event Logs? Windows Event Logs are records that Windows automatically creates whenever something significant happens on the system — a user logs in, a service crashes, a file is accessed, an audit policy changes, a script runs. Think...

Splunk in Plain English — A Practical SOC Guide

Imagine you are a detective, and every device on your network — servers, laptops, firewalls, cloud systems — is leaving footprints everywhere. The problem is there are millions of footprints every single day, scattered across thousands of different files. Your job is to find the one set of footprints that does not belong. That is exactly the problem Splunk solves. It is the platform that collects every footprint from every device, puts them in one place, and gives you the tools to find the suspicious ones — fast. In this blog, I will take you through Splunk from absolute scratch — what it is, how it works under the hood, how to write SPL queries like a pro, how to build dashboards and alerts, how to set up a SOC lab, and most importantly, the interview questions you will definitely face if you are going for a SOC analyst role. I have completed the TryHackMe Advanced Splunk rooms including SPL exploration, SOC lab setup, dashboards and reports, data manipula...

Beware of Instagram Shopping Scams: Tips to Stay Safe

Beware of Instagram Shopping Scams: Tips to Stay Safe In recent years, Instagram has evolved into a popular marketplace, allowing users to discover and purchase products directly through the platform. While this has made shopping more convenient, it has also opened the door to a rise in scams and fraudulent activities. Here’s what you need to know about Instagram shopping scams and how to protect yourself. What Are Instagram Shopping Scams? Instagram shopping scams typically involve fake accounts or websites that mimic legitimate brands. Scammers often create attractive posts featuring trendy products at unbeatable prices, luring unsuspecting shoppers into making purchases. Once you’ve placed an order, you might receive subpar merchandise, or worse, nothing at all. I'm receiving a lot of calls nowadays about scams, and people are asking how they can get a refund and whether there is any chance of getting their money back. Common Types of Scams are Fake Accounts, Phishing Links and ...

Deep Dive into Cybersecurity: Security+ Level Knowledge Without the Certificate

📚 My Cybersecurity Learning Journey Key Topics from a 17-Hour Security+ Course 🔹 CIA Triad Explained Confidentiality: Ensuring that sensitive data is only accessed by authorized users. This is often achieved using encryption and access controls. Integrity: Ensuring data is accurate and untampered. Techniques like hashing, checksums, and digital signatures help validate that data hasn't been altered. Availability: Making sure systems and data are accessible when needed. Achieved through backups, redundancy, load balancing, and fault-tolerant design. 🔹 Types of Threats Malware: Includes viruses, ransomware, worms, and trojans that compromise devices or networks. Social Engineering: Manipulating users into giving up confidential info. Example: Phishing emails. Insider Threats: Employees or contractors misusing access, accidentally or intentionally. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): Long-term targeted attacks, often by well-funded threat actors. Zero...

શું તમે ઇ-સિમ ફ્રોડ વિશે જાણો છો ? શું છે આ ઇ-સિમ ?

Awareness is necessity જામતારા સ્થળ વિશે ક્યારેય સાંભળ્યું છે? તમારામાંથી ઘણાએ Netflix પરની પ્રખ્યાત series "Jamtara: Sab ka number ayega" જોઇ હશે.તે ઝારખંડની રાજધાની રાંચી નજીક આવેલું છે. આ સ્થાન ફિશિંગ અને બેંક ફ્રોડ નું કેન્દ્ર બન્યું છે. તાજેતરમાં જામતારા ચર્ચામાં આવેલું છે કારણ કે આ સ્થાનના છેતરપિંડી કરનારાઓએ નવા પ્રકારના ગુના / છેતરપિંડી (scam/fraud) શરૂ કરી છે, એટલે કે ઇ-સિમ ફ્રોડ. શું તમે જાણો છો e-SIM શું છે ? e-SIM એટલે "Embedded Subscriber Identity Module." તમારે ટેલિકોમ ઓપરેટર નું સીમકાર્ડ અલગથી ખરીદવાની જરૂર નથી અને તેને તમારા મોબાઇલમાં દાખલ કરવાની પણ જરૂર નથી.ઇ-સિમ (e-SIM) તમારા સ્માર્ટફોનના હાર્ડવેરનો એક ભાગ છે. આ ઇ-સિમ ચિપ તમારા સ્માર્ટફોન પર પ્રી-ઇન્સ્ટોલ કરેલી હોય છે.તેનું કામ આપણા સામાન્ય સિમ જેવું જ હોય છે જે IMSI નંબર, કેટલીક સંપર્ક વિગતો (contact numbers) જેવી માહિતીને સાચવે છે.ઇ-સિમ ફરીથી લખી શકાય તેવું હોય છે. અગાઉના ટેલિકોમ ઓપરેટરને લગતી વિગતો erase કરી શકાય છે અને નવી ટેલિકોમ ઓપરેટર દ્વારા નવી માહિતી ફરીથી લખી શકાય છે. આ પ્રકા...

Cybermini Articles

Search This Blog