Since its launch in 2004, Facebook has drawn
more than seven hundred and fifty million active users (and their fair
share of bumps and bruises over its privacy policies). Facebook provides
unsupecting users many opportunities to reveal their private details
unintentionally, making this particular networking site a perfect target
for hackers. Adopting intense hacking prevention techniques can help to
keep your information protected and your Facebook profile completely
under their radar.
For a hacker who is familiar with Facebook and all of
its aspects, accessing personal information takes just a few mouse
clicks. Based on the information visible on peoples’ profiles — for
instance your friends, family and colleagues, and their friends and
coworkers — someone with enough knowledge can easily find your physical
address, email address, family names, cv and even personal contact
number(s). If hackers obtain this details, these folks may eventually
acquire your identity. The following are a few of the steps you can take
to secure the data on your Facebook account:
Image Source: Google Image – A sample software that says it can hack Facebook. But these software are usually malwares.
First, only add contacts you know.
Generally, there is a trend on Facebook to gather as many friends as
possible, but men and women who do this poses a very minimal idea (or no
idea) about who the person is on their friends list. Some of those
might not really be real people, but rather phishing pages that are
trying to gather information about you. Acknowledging the invite could
permit a hacker to reach one’s account. Check out your contacts/friends
list periodically to make sure you have not added anyone you don’t know
accidentally, and that the users who have visibility to your account are
the individuals YOU desire to give access too.
Avoiding a ‘hack’ requires vigilance… always verify
hyperlinks before you clicking on them! If the link appears to be a
strange URL or it’s ‘out of character’ for the person whom sent it to
you, DON’T CLICK ON IT! When a hacker obtains access to
a profile, often times they may upload harmful code (links) that
replicates themselves by posting on your Facebook wall. Once your
friends push that hyperlink, it duplicates the procedure.
A good example of this is sometimes hackers use
outside links to connect you to ‘Facebook.’ These pages are ‘dummy’ or
‘duplicate’ pages that report any information entered into it back to
the hacker… in other words, once you enter your password and username
and press Enter on your keyboard, the hacker has your legitimate login
info… and generally at that point, the fake page does not take you
anywhere, rather it appears as if the page is unresponsive to your
input. So, whenever you are in doubt, visit the website directly and not
through other means (links via email or other websites).
Image
Source: Google Image – The malicious link isn’t spreading through high
profile names only, but also “long tail” relatively popular Facebook
pages.
Furthermore, it is paramount to upgrade your web
browser when new versions are available. This way the system can
keep antivirus, spam protection and other security features up-to-date.
This will work to improve one’s protection and keep not only your
Facebook profile secure, but additionally the other applications you may
use. Update and run anti-virus software on your computer on a regular
basis. Whenever you use the internet, your PC becomes vulnerable and
open to dangerous users. Executing a malware scan on one’s computer
system frequently can minimize one’s exposure and enhance your
hack-protection capability.
Password strength is the ideal measure of your hack
prevention plan. Choose or think of a security password containing at
least eight characters (but more is always better) and that uses a
combination of letters, numbers and symbols. Refrain from using common,
everyday words or phrases — like a birth date or your first or favorite
pet’s name or other effortlessly distinguished information — and avoid
words that can be found in the Oxford or any other dictionary.
Always make use of your common sense.
Facebook has security measures that aid you in account protection.
Lookup Facebook’s Help Center to find all of them. Secure browsing via
HTTPS is a feature that encrypts one’s traffic prior to posting it on
the web. We can tell if this feature is enabled by the server by
checking the URL (or web address) in your browser’s address bar. If the
address begins with ‘https‘ instead of ‘http,’ then the traffic between you and the site is encrypted. Many third party plugins and apps do not assist this element.
Image
Source: Google Image – HTTPS (also called HTTP over TLS, HTTP over SSL,
and HTTP Secure) is a protocol for secure communication over a computer
network which is widely used on the Internet. HTTPS consists of
communication over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) within a
connection encrypted by Transport Layer Security or its predecessor,
Secure Sockets Layer. The main motivation for HTTPS is authentication of
the visited website and to protect the privacy and integrity of the
exchanged data.
Login alerts can help you determine if anyone else
has utilized or used your profile. This feature notifies you whenever
your account is used from a new device or computer. A variation of this
element is called login approvals (aka 2-factor authentication). This
sends a code to your cellular device whenever the profile is being
accessed from a new, unrecognized device or computer that you must enter
to proceed with logging in.
In case you need to reach your profile from a public
computer in a public library or on a college or university campus or
another public place, you can ask a one time security password from
Facebook by sending text messages to Facebook. The security password is
uniquely generated and is valid for only a few minutes. Utilizing this
safety measure is one VERY GOOD step in keeping your account secure.
In summation, using a few simple steps to secure your
account can make one’s Facebook experience more pleasant and virtually
stress free. Take the opportunity to understand the privacy and
protection features the website offers and protect yourself and others
from stalkers and hackers.
