Five[5] Ways To Prevent Your Facebook Account From Getting Hacked
You’ve probably
already heard that Facebook accounts are hacked to gain personal information, but you might not be aware of how easy
that just might be for hackers. With hackers increasingly targeting Facebook as a primary
source of collecting user information, and
corporations using
your information to make decisions
about your rates, you
really should have a plan for protecting yourself.
Here are some tips
to prevent getting
hacked:
[1] Use strong password: The names of
yourself, your
spouse, parents,
siblings or pet, or your birthday do not qualify. Use a mix of letters, digits and punctuate [but not blank spaces]. Use
both capital and lowercase letters. The longer your password
the better. The shorter
your password the easier it is to hack, especially if it’s a common word or name. A good starting point is six character
though 8, 10 or 12 are
even better. If you have trouble in remembering do something about that,
else consider
using an unusual phrase or comb of words that only
you or a few people
might know, then substitute some of the
letters with digits
or punctuate. Humorous combination might make it easier to
remember but
otherwise write your password down in a
SAFE place. Or just keep using the “Forgot
password option
to reset your
password"
[2] Change Your Password Regularly: By regular, I mean monthly or even weekly, not yearly. Facebook Forgot
password option
is one way, or you
can go to your account settings.
[3] Don’t friend
everyone That
“hot chick” whom
you don’t know
and looks like some Hollywood starlet might be a guy: Avoid the person who
doesn’t even have
a profile pic, let alone any friends in common with you. If you haven’t met them,
be cautious. Also,
don’t friend friends whom you know to use weak password If their account is compromise, hackers
can still learn certain things about you from your profile, or could send you a message via the friend’s account to lure you to a malware site.
[4] Don’t click on links
willy-nilly: If you click on a status
update that a “friend” posted on your wall and it looks fishy, don’t assume they actually did it. Their account could be
compromise If your clicking takes you to a Facebook application that you’re unsure
of, there’s no obligation to click through. For
example All Facebook
Editor Nick O’Neill
recently posted
about a fake ‘Like
photo’ application
[5] Don’t believe all
emails: Don’t forget that honest web services
will never ask you to do certain things in
an email. For example Facebook will NEVER send you an email asking you to change your password or enter personal details.
If they need you to do that, they will tell you
where in your account settings you can go to
do that. On a similar note, protect your
email account that
you register for Facebook with, else someone can succeed in resetting your
Facebook password
2014-04-01
