Facebook enjoys the privilege of
having over 900 million registered and active users. And with its
current exponential growth, it is fast approaching the 1 billion mark, a
milestone no social networking website
has ever achieved. But with so many user accounts comes the problem of
protecting the users' personal information. Facebook has been hacked
time and again.
In fact, Mark Zuckerberg's own profile was hacked last year and some of his personal pictures were leaked. Since then, Facebook has been strengthening its defenses. But as its sophistication grows, so does that of the hackers, who somehow always seem to be one step ahead. There's only so much Facebook can do to keep them at bay though. You are the guardian of your own information within Facebook, so you have to do your part as well. Here are some simple things you can do to keep any hack attempts at bay.
In fact, Mark Zuckerberg's own profile was hacked last year and some of his personal pictures were leaked. Since then, Facebook has been strengthening its defenses. But as its sophistication grows, so does that of the hackers, who somehow always seem to be one step ahead. There's only so much Facebook can do to keep them at bay though. You are the guardian of your own information within Facebook, so you have to do your part as well. Here are some simple things you can do to keep any hack attempts at bay.
Here is a short video from Facebook summarizing how you can defend your Facebook account from potential hack attacks.
Enable SSL Encryption
In
the past, Facebook used secure connections for user logins. It used
the HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) only when you entered a
password. But now, Facebook provides secure data transactions throughout
the website. For some of you, secure browsing might already be turned
on. You can spot a secured connection when you see a 'https://' at the
start of the URL in the address bar. You can also see a lock icon there.
If it is there, well and good. If not, you need to turn on SSL
encryption.
To turn on encryption, go to your Account Settings. Choose Security from
the left sidebar. Now on the right side, check whether Secure Browsing
is enabled. If it's not, then please enable it by editing the option.
That's it. There's one thing to remember though; encrypted pages take
longer to load. So grow some patience :)
Learn how to spot a scam
Secondly,
learn how to spot a scam. This is one extremely important point I want
to discuss. Most people can't recognize scam even when it's staring them
in the eye!
First, be ware of the so called
'special offers'. People share all kinds of stuff, such as 'do this and
get a free gift voucher' or 'do that and get coupons worth this much'
etc. Well, there's a general rule of thumb that applies here' if
something is too good to be true, it most probably isn't. Don't click on
any such thing. People don't give away things like that.
Most importantly, I have been seeing many updates recently of people checking out applications that show you 'who viewed your profile in the past month' or something similar. According to Facebook, this simply isn't possible
for any third-party app, and even Facebook has no plans to implement
such a feature. So these things definitely are scams; avoid them.
Similarly, there are apps and
games that access your profile information and ask your permission to
post on your wall and stuff. Be wary of such apps, and if you must, use
them only scarcely. They have access to your information, which could be
leaked out at any time.
All of these come under the
phishing technique used by hackers to gain access to profiles and spread
malicious content and/or grab hold of sensitive information. Be vary of
them at all times. Don't jeopardize your profile's security by clicking
on such links and just throwing away your information.
Choose a unique password
Many
people have the habit of creating a universal password for every online
account they have, be it Facebook or email or Twitter. Well, keep in
mind that if someone gets hold of your Facebook password, and if it's
the same for your email as well, then you, my friend, are in for some
real trouble. You might be barred out of not only your Facebook account,
but also your email inbox, forever!
So change your Facebook password
now! And use a unique and strong password. For example, my Facebook
password is 57 characters long. And I'd love to see any computer try to
brute-force its way out of that one, forget the idea of someone guessing
it. So the only way someone can access my account is through phishing,
which I am always careful to avoid.
Confirm your mobile number
Facebook's
mobile confirmation has really put many at ease. You can find this
option again in your Account Settings. Once you confirm your mobile
number, every time you log into your account, a confirmation code will
be sent to your mobile phone which you will then need to enter online.
Of course, any unauthorized login won't have access to this confirmation
code.
Facebook will also send you a
new password if you are locked out of your account and need to reset
your password. Hence, turning on cell-phone confirmation provides an
extra security layer.
Connect multiple email addresses
There's
one more major step you should take to secure your Facebook account. If
you have email addresses that you use other than the one currently
affiliated with your Facebook account, then I'd suggest you link those
up with your Facebook account. You can do this by simply going into your
profile and editing your contact information.
Linking multiple accounts will
ensure that you are never locked out of both your email and Facebook
accounts at the same time. You can use the secondary email accounts to
reset your password and restore your Facebook account.
These were some of the basic
tips you should know regarding Facebook security, since most of you use
Facebook at some level. Apply these steps, and also share this post with
your friends so they can secure their profiles as well. Stay safe, and
have a nice weekend :)
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