BARBARA ORTUTAY is the Technology Writer for the Associated Press.
There is a lot of chaos on the micro-blogging site.
The staff was given an ultimatum this week, either to work hard or leave. Hundreds went for the door after choosing the latter.
The system is stressed out by the exodus. Some users had trouble signing in with two-step verification when they received texts. There are test pages outside.
Some users are seeing a renewed onslaught of junk mail on their feed, while others complain of receiving new replies to long- deleted messages. The bird site is moving along.
After an online poll, Musk restored Trump to his social media accounts.
We will not simply shut down overnight. The job cuts may open the door to bad actors exploiting the platform’s vulnerabilities and compromising user accounts.
There aren’t many things you can do about Musk’s on-the-fly teardown of one of the world’s key online information ecosystems, but there are steps you can take to protect your account if you’re not ready to leave.
ENABLE MULTI-STEP AUTHENTICATION
It’s important to add an extra step to the process to make it harder for hackers to access your account if you only use your login and password.
There are three ways to choose from: text message, an app or a security key. Since there have been some issues with users not receiving text messages to verify their accounts, and because it is generally considered a safer option, using the authentication app is probably the best option.
If you want to do this, you will need to download one of the applications available. Authy, Duo Mobile, and 1Password are some of the free ones in the Apple or Android app stores.
If you want to see ellipses in a circle, open the desktop version of the app, and click on the icon. “Security and account access” and “Settings and privacy” are also there. You can follow the instructions to set up theAuthentication app here. If you haven’t already, you’ll be asked to share your email address on the site.
You can add an extra layer of security to your account by using the auto-generated numerical codes from your authentication app.
Reactions to Donald Trump being unbanned on social media were applauded by the Republicans.
SHUT DOWN THIRD-PARTY ACCESS
According to Jane Manchun Wong, an independent software and security researcher in Hong Kong, it’s a good idea to remove third-party sites and apps from your account on the social network.
If there is a potential security problem with the application programming interface, it will take longer to patch it because fewer people will be at the company.
Go to the “Security account and access” tool and turn on the feature. Here, you can find all the third-party apps that are connected to your account, as well as some you may have linked years ago that are no longer around.
There are questions about Musk’s management skills after the recent changes on social media.
DOWNLOAD YOUR ARCHIVE
For the nostalgic, for research or for the digital hoarders among us, the idea of losing a decade or more of our tweeting history is a catastrophe. There is no fear, though. If you’d like to make sure it’s preserved, you can download your archive.
This tool is only available in the “Your account” section of settings on the desktop version of the social network. If you have that set up, you will have to enter your password once more. When your archive is ready to download, you will get a notification on the social networking site.
You need to download it on the desktop version of the site. Normally it takes 24 hours, but it may take longer now. Some users have had to try more than one time.
Musk testifies in a compensation trial.
PRESERVE YOUR FOLLOWERS LIST
Many users in journalism, tech and academia are signing up for Mastodon, a previously little-known platform that launched in 2016
Mastodon is a network. It’s not owned by a single billionaire. Rather, it’s made up of a network of server that are able to connect to each other.
Signing on can be difficult, but you can still communicate with people on other server, just like you can email people from your Gmail account even if they are on Outlook or another email server.
If they also have Mastodon accounts, you can go to fedifinder.glitch.me to find your following and see if they also have a Mastodon account. People can get in touch with people on other social networks if they are listed in a person’s bios or display names on the site.
