Instagram is one of the greatest platforms that have been created for the web. The openness it offers to users when it comes to sharing their lives on the Internet is only rivaled by the efforts made by the company to keep the privacy of the users’ safe by every means necessary.
Instagram was on the rise when Facebook acquired it, the company paid a billion dollars for the platform in cash back in 2012. They made it into what it is today: one of the most functional, user-friendly apps to share pictures, videos, live streams, and many other forms of interaction with just a couple of clicks.
To this day, Instagram reigns supreme over many platforms, either by adapting or adding new features that make it more enjoyable to the millions of users that engage on it every single day. That doesn’t mean that life in Instagram is easy, either for their caretakers or the users.
The Ongoing Concerns about Security
Every platform is far from being perfectly conceived, and Instagram is no exception to that rule. The team behind IG manages to update every few months the issues that could make things difficult in the platform. Security is one of the most significant concerns for the team behind Instagram.
Today we reveal the most used methods and tricks by hackers who confessed how they managed to hack thousands of Instagram accounts.
The methods were originally gathered by Crazy Greek’s journalist who managed to get them directly by interviewing with few hackers who got caught.
Most of the problems come down to getting password access to the platform. A lot of users tend to keep their accounts logged in at all times when they have hefty software to lock down their screens. But many people prefer to enter the password every time they access Instagram.
Too many people make the mistake of managing their access to social networks using the same password everywhere, while others use tools such as password handler apps to remind the magic words used to log in. This is not a solution since the issues will affect us at some point: we are going to need our physical password, and we won’t be able to remember it.
Getting Access the Hard Way – Hacking Your Personal Instagram Account
The good news is that even if we don’t rely on quick pads or any means to save our passwords in written form, we can still get access to our IG accounts if we have locked ourselves out of it. Even if you have no idea how it happens, you will face this issue at some point, especially if you clean the cache of your smart device from cookies frequently. The following is a list of the methods we have found across the web that can help you get back your IG account quickly, without too much of a hassle and avoiding the troublesome checkups done by the platform to confirm your identity.
Use of Brute Force Tools
When we use specialized software to get our IG accounts back, we are engaging on “Brute-force” methods as they are called across the web, since they use programs that are meant to crack the access the platform. Most of those programs require the use of a .txt document that contains a list of the passwords that are frequently used by the user. The software goes through the list working by trial and error using combinations of these passwords until they find the character combination that works in a matter of moments.
Although they are considered useful by some, most of these cracking tools stopped working when passwords started to include specialized characters, as well as two-factor authentication. While many of these programs have been retired from the market for some time now, a few still remain and are continuously updated by their developers.
The most famous Instagram cracker tool that is still available in the market is a program named “InstaRipper.” This software is famous for having a built-in list of passwords options that are updated frequently by app developers. InstaRipper is renowned for being fully automated, and by working stealthily in the back of the main operations handled by the device you choose to activate it.
It also hides the IP address where you intend to manage the crack and it clear any cookies of being used after running each crack. While the software has been reported to work really fast, the performance of it will always be tied to the strength of the password on the account you are trying to access as well as the speed of your internet connection.
Phishing
The word “phishing” has many negative connotations. If often referred to as the most common scam on the Internet and the way many people online lose their accounts on social media, as well as email and even their financial information. However, phishing is also the easiest method to get back your Instagram account immediately without having the company verify your identity.
We talked about this method earlier in our tutorial how to hack Facebook account. Phishing is widely used to hack almost any online account.
When unethical hackers handle the procedure, they create a fake login page to the app and wait for the user to enter their information such as the login email and their password. The fake page takes to hold the data and sends it the hacker in a text file. Phishing often comes with a deceiving tactic, and that’s why it’s considered an unethical hacking method.
The attackers usually gather this information for the sole purpose of using your account for a scam scheme, and it relies heavily on creating a sense of urgency in the user to access their Instagram account and place their information unknowingly. Phishing has been used for Facebook and Twitter in the past, but both platforms have upgraded their security features to avoid these problems.
Phishing Methods
Phishing can be achieved in two ways: using a stealth mode or an owner’s mode. Here are some brief details about both of them:
· Stealth Mode
This happens when an attacker gains access to your account, but he doesn’t lock you out of it. They choose to monitor your activity and see what you are up to on Instagram. If you use your account for mercantilist purposes, you are likely to be a victim of this at some point. Attackers can also use this mode to understand your Instagram behavior and get access to your contacts to scam them on your behalf.
· Owner’s Mode
This one is almost self-explanatory. On this mode, the hacker gains access to your account and locks you out of it altogether. It takes time, and it’s pretty hard to deal with it by regular means since the attacker takes the time to change every bit of information related to the way to access your account to make it look like a change done out of concern by you. It is mostly used by unethical hackers to ask for ransom on accounts with a large following and certain influence.
Use a Keylogger
Keyloggers are the upgraded version of traditional cracking tools. They are mostly meant to supervise other accounts of fish for anything juicy on them. Many people regard them as jealous person apps, but they are mainly used for the supervision of minors to check their whereabouts and the people they communicate with. The most popular Keyloggers in the market right now are:
· MSpy
Probably the best-reputed app out of all the offerings out there and one that has to be paid for to function properly. As a supervision app, mSpy allows users to check specific details of other accounts such as the general information contained on the profile, the activity of the account, location, most frequent contacts, downloaded media files, private messages and the possibility to have access to the targeted account and have control of it.
· XNSPY
The number two app on this regard and one that is known for being highly efficient, with one of the best response time. XNSPY grants full access on every regard to any account on Instagram, even if they are set to full private mode. The app also offers complete access to all the data shared by the account as well as all the messaging done with it. The biggest handicap of this app is that you will have to install it physically on the device where the targeted account is handled.
Getting Instagram Access on a Hail Mary and a Guess
This only will work on the people you know and only if they don’t have a two-step verification system in place. It works because as we stated earlier, too many people use weak passwords to manage access to their social networks. If you know the habits of someone, it won’t be too difficult to guess the type of word they use to get access. You would be surprised at how many times this actually works for many people.
The Ethical Debate of Using These Access Methods on Instagram
While, indeed, using these methods to get access to your personal account will not bring any heat on you, using them to have access to the accounts of a loved one will bring a lot of heat on your if it’s done without consent and if you are in a place with strict internet regulations. Getting access to an IG account that is not yours is fined by the law in many places, and in others is an outright cause for incarceration, so be careful on how you use this.