I’m assuming you love facebook, hanging out with old friends, making new connections, chatting when you’re less busy and reading all those funny status updates on your news feed, right? Did you know your facebook account can be hacked? You can lose access to your facebook account as there are ways to hack a facebook account but that is not what we’re discussing in the context of this blog post, we’re focusing majorly on how to protect your account from getting hacked. I recently wrote a post on preventing your passwords from getting hacked but that was from a generalized point of view, the tips provided in this post are specifically for your facebook account.
1. Hide your primary email
Your primary email is the email your facebook account is registered with. I see a lot of people using free email providers like yahoo, hotmail and gmail and even showing this on their facebook profile. Once a hacker gets hold of your primary email, your facebook account is as good as gone. All that needs to be done is to use Forgot Password to reset your facebook password and a link is sent to your email which is already hacked! To prevent this, be sure your primary email is hidden. To do this, go to Edit Profile > Contact Information. Change your primary email’s visibility to Only Me.
2. Beware of facebook phishing and links you follow
Phishing is a way to get certain data about you such as login details and credit card information by mimicking a trusted site. Hackers may use Facebook hacking software to trap people. There are so many fake facebook login pages on the internet and keying your username and password on any of those pages might just make you lose your facebook account. If you follow any link from your email or facebook news feed and you’re asked to log in to facebook, check the address bar to ensure you’re actually logging in to facebook or it might be just a fake log in page.
3. Enable login notifications
With facebook login notification turned on, you get to know immediately some crazy hacker gets access to your facebook account. Login in notification alerts you through SMS and email when a browser/device different from yours accesses your account. To enable it, go to Account Settings > Security > Login Notifications.
4. Don’t accept every friend request
Someone once said people now take facebook popularity seriously and I realize this is so true. Just because someone sends a friend request doesn’t mean you must accept it. It’s been proven that identity thieves and hackers do set up fake facebook profiles just to get close to their victims.
5. Set up a complex password
Be sure your password is alphanumeric and can’t be guessed. It should contain letters, figures and symbols all randomly mixed together and should be at least ten characters.lso be sure your facebook password isn’t the same as your primary email account password.
6. Watch out for keyloggers
Keyloggers are programs installed on your computer to monitor every keystroke you make. Some keyloggers can be remotely installed on your computer without the hacker having direct contact with your PC. Be sure your antivirus is up to date and perform regular scans.
These tips don’t guarantee you complete security but it’s going to be real tough for anyone to gain access to your account if they’re taken into practice. Hacking can’t be totally prevented, but the chances of getting hacked can be minimized. Share the post with your facebook friends if it helps.