For many people, Facebook is part of their everyday life. It’s where they interact with friends and colleagues, and is seen by many as an extension of themselves.
Some time back, a Facebook account was irrelevant to hackers. There was no reason to hack anyone’s account since there was no reason for hacking an account in the first place.
Ever since it has grown to billions of users, Facebook contains enough data for hackers to use for either monetary gain or blackmail. A celebrity’s account, for example, can be hacked in order for a person to advertise a page or brand.
The hacker can also post embarrassing or discriminating posts that will leave the celeb’s fans furious. Your account is also prone to hacking even if you aren’t a celebrity. You obviously have to protect your Facebook account from malicious hackers.
How to Secure Your Facebook Account From Hackers
This article contains tips and tricks for boosting the security of your Facebook account. It is not that hard to protect your account. Just follow these guidelines, and you’ll be good to go:
- Create A Strong Password
Avoid including your name, birthdate, pets, or common words in your password: make it difficult to guess.
A strong password will be at least 10 characters in length, but the more the better. The longer (more characters) your password is, the more time it will take the hacker to crack it.
A strong password should contain at least one of each of the following characters: lower-case letters, upper-case letters, numbers, and special characters.
- Avoid Saving Passwords On Public Devices
Cyber cafés are awesome alternatives when you do not have any data on your device. They are also reserves for passwords since most people just click on ‘yes’ on the save password dialog box.
They do so because of the rush they face during browsing. This might also happen to you. If you do not have a device to browse the web, never save your passwords on a device you have no control over.
The password will remain there, and someone will definitely log into your account without any hustle.
- Always Log Out On Other Devices
Not saving your password is not the only way to prevent hacking on public devices. Leaving your account logged in also paves the way for hackers to take control of your account.
Even if you close the browser after a session, Facebook will recognize the session as continuous for a while. If a person comes in just right after you, he should have access to your account.
You have to ensure that you have logged out and that neither your number nor email address is displayed in the authentication tabs. You’ll otherwise find some nasty posts up on your wall if the guy is aiming to destroy you.
- Change Your Password Once Every Six Months
This goes for all of your passwords, not just your Facebook one. If you find it difficult to remember to do this, set a reminder on your calendar.
- Only Log In On Trusted Computers
If you are using a computer that you don’t know or trust, avoid doing anything that requires you to enter your password. Hackers commonly use key loggers on computer systems that record everything you type, including passwords.
If it’s not possible for you to avoid typing a password into a computer you don’t trust, then change your password as soon as you can once you’re back at your own computer.
- Opt For Two-way Verification
This feature sends an authentication message to your phone every time you or a hacker tries to log in to your account. You can use this through third-party software or Facebook’s verification mechanism.
When logging in, you receive a unique code that will enable you to access Facebook in that session only. Once the session has ended, you will need to receive another authentication message to access your account once more.
I know it is super inconvenient to go through all that instead of a once-click login. It is, however, better to be safe than sorry.
- Clean Up Your Browser
It is always advisable to clean up your browser every once in a while.
Most phishing and virus activities are found in porn and torrent sites. If you are a frequent visitor (not judging), always clear your data before someone gains access to your authentication details.
If that seems like much of a hustle, just download an adware removal tool to take care of that for you. The next person trying to hack you will not find the ones and zeros he/she is phishing for.
- Protect Yourself From Spyware And Malware
The hacking problems are not only web-based. A person can hack your browser through malicious software you may have unknowingly installed on your computer.
Some of these software could also spam some pop-up ads onto your screen or browser. You can avoid this by using malware, adware, and spyware removers.
How To Access Your Facebook Security
• Log into your Facebook account
On the Facebook home page, enter your email address and password to log into your Facebook account. Ensure that you log into Facebook (and other sites) at the correct address: www.facebook.com.
It’s important to make sure that your address bar actually says www.facebook.com and not something like facebook.co, face.com, or facebook1.com etc.
Phishers often choose sites that you may accidentally type into your address bar when in a hurry.
• Open Your Facebook Settings
Once you’re logged into your Facebook account, click on the downward-pointing triangle in the top right corner of your page (along the blue bar).
This will open a drop-down menu. Just above “Log out” you’ll see “Settings.” Click on “Settings” to open your Settings menu.
If you need to change your password, click on the “General” tab in “Settings,” then click on “Edit” to the right of “Password.” You’ll need to enter your current password before entering in your new one, then click on “Save Changes.”
• Open Your Security Settings
Once you have the Settings window open, you’ll see a number of tabs on the left side of the Settings window. “Security” should be the second tab down, just under “General.” Click on “Security” to open your security settings.
In your Security Settings window, you’ll see a list of settings that you can adjust. To adjust these settings, you’ll click on “Edit,” which appears (in blue) to the right of of the specific settings.
If you need us to help you with more updated information on How to Secure Your Facebook Account From Hackers, kindly feel free to ask any question in the comment box below. You can also provide us your phone number or email Address for more updates.
Please, kindly use the Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and WhatsApp share buttons below to help others, thanks.
Wazobia Info Nigeria
Always Serving You Better.
