For many of us, Facebook has become a part of our everyday life. We can interact with our friends and family. Having our Facebook account hacked can be more than just humiliating, depending on what the hackers do, it can damage our reputation or even cost us money. If you suspect that your Facebook account has been hacked, the first thing to do is change your password. Here are a few tips and tricks for boosting the security of your Facebook account.
Protect your password
- Don’t use your Facebook password anywhere else online, and never share it with other people.
- Your password should be hard to guess, so don’t include your name or common words.
- Learn more about creating a strong password.
Never share your login information
- Scammers may create fake websites that look like Facebook and ask you to login with your email and password.
- Always check the website’s URL before you enter your login information. When in doubt, type www.facebook.com into your browser to get to Facebook.
- Don’t forward emails from Facebook to other people, since they may have sensitive information about your account.
- Learn more about avoiding phishing.
Log out of Facebook when you use a computer you share with other people
- If you forget, you can log out remotely.
Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know
- Scammers may create fake accounts to friend people.
- Becoming friends with scammers might allow them to spam your timeline, tag you in posts and send you malicious messages.
Watch out for malicious software
- Malicious software can cause damage to a computer, server or computer network.
- Learn the signs of an infected computer or device and how to remove malicious software.
- Keep your web browser up to date and remove suspicious applications or browser add-ons.
Never click suspicious links
- This includes links on Facebook (example: on posts) or in emails.
- Keep in mind that Facebook will never ask you for your password in an email.
- If you see a suspicious link on Facebook, report it.
Bonus
- You can get alerts about unrecognized logins, set up two-factor authentication, or choose friends to be your trusted contacts.
- If you’re logged into Facebook on a computer, you can use Security Checkup to review your security settings.
