Protect Your Facebook Account From Hackers
Facebook’s security practices have changed for the better since the largest data breach. In case you haven’t heard yet, hackers have managed to steal 267 million user profiles. And they did exactly what any other hacker would do – they sold the data on the Dark Web for use by other attackers.
To make matters worse, it happened just a couple of days after a massive Zoom data breach that affected over half a million users.
It just shows how vulnerable your online accounts can be, including Facebook. Even though Facebook has implemented an improved cybersecurity infrastructure, this does not mean that your account is 100% secure.
Today, even novice hackers can break into your account. And if they have the tools or know-how, you can easily hack into a Facebook account and expose someone’s private messages.
But luckily, you can easily prevent this too. In this article, we’ll go over a few important tips that every digital user should apply.
Data is more vulnerable than ever, with hundreds of hacking attempts happening every day. So, be safe by following the tips below.
Use a Password Manager
Not sure how easy it is to prevent Facebook hacking? Just use a strong password. Simply put, password managers help you store and create unique passwords.
This means that you can create very long and complex passwords that are not easy to crack. In addition, they also eliminate the need to remember passwords for all sites.
However, password managers can also help with:
- Periodically generating new passwords for your accounts.
- Storing credit card information.
- Multi-factor authentication.
Ideally, long and complex passwords make it difficult for hackers to break into your Facebook account. And password managers can help you with this.
Luckily for you, if you’re a Chrome user, Google has implemented an automatic password generator that pops up every time you need to create a password.
It will automatically generate a strong password and save it to your password manager. Thus, you will always have a strong password with just one click.
Hide Your Email Address
For most people, an email address is a gateway to several other accounts besides Facebook. This is especially true if you use the same password for all of your accounts.
Thus, it is very important to hide your email address from public view as much as possible. And yes, this also includes your Facebook friends list.
To start hiding your Facebook email address,
Follow these steps:
- When you are logged into your Facebook account, click your name/profile picture to access your profile.
- On your profile page, click the About tab.
- Select Contact & Basic Information from the left menu to view a list of your contact information.
- Click the edit icon next to your email, then set your Facebook privacy settings to Just Me.
This ensures that only you can see your email address. Since hackers can’t see your email address either, you become a much smaller target for them.
People can do a lot with just your email, so make sure it’s private.
Log Out of Old Devices
Unlike your banking app, Facebook always keeps you logged in after you log in. This means that anyone using one of your old devices can access your account.
Since they won’t need a password, it will be easy to gather all the information they need. But luckily, you can tell Facebook to disconnect you from all active devices.
Here’s what you need to do to log out of old devices:
- If you’re signed in, tap the arrow at the top right of the screen next to the notification bell, then tap Settings & Privacy.
- On the settings page, click Security & Login.
- In the “Where are you signed in” section, you will see a list of all devices that have recently accessed your account.
- Click on the three dots next to any of your old devices and select Sign Out.
After logging out, anyone using your old device will need to log in again to access your account. Therefore, you can relax in the knowledge that no one can access your Facebook account.
Use VPN While Using Public Wi-Fi
For many, VPNs are tools that can be used to unblock restricted web content. For example, in schools, students usually use a VPN to unblock sites like Facebook.
However, VPNs also add a layer of protection. And especially when you’re using public Wi-Fi. So is Facebook secure over public Wi-Fi? Not really, think again.
VPNs work by creating an encrypted tunnel between your device and Facebook. Therefore, no one who tries to intercept your messages will be able to do this.
By using a VPN, you not only hide your identity, but also protect yourself from various hacker attacks, such as attacker-in-the-middle attacks or spoofing.
Learn To Recognize Phishing Links
Most Facebook accounts today are hacked using phishing. Unfortunately, very few people know what phishing is and how it works in general.
The whole purpose of a phishing email is to create a fake account that will imitate a well-known company or person.
The hackers then force users to follow various links that either contain malware or redirect them to a fake page where they enter their credentials.
The hackers will then use this data to steal identity, blackmail, and many other nasty things.
However, phishing emails and links to them are still easy to spot.
Here’s how:
- The sender of the email does not refer to you by name.
- Hover over links to see the true URL.
- There are spelling and typing errors in the email content.
- Messages request confidential information.
Conclusion
Honestly, being vigilant is the best way to prevent your Facebook account from being hacked. This means that you will need to take immediate action if you notice strange activity in your account.
We hope that through this article you learned how to protect your Facebook account from hackers.
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