How to protect your Facebook account from hackers

One fine morning, you wake up to find that you are not able to log on to your Facebook account. As you are wondering what caused this lockout, you receive an urgent call from your friend asking you about the hospital you are admitted in. By the time you finish explaining to your friend that you are hale and healthy and that the post in Facebook was not from you, you are exhausted.

If seeing your beloved Facebook account getting hacked was not a heavy blow on your fragile system, the fact that someone is sending malicious messages from your ID makes matters worse. It is not the question of losing your Facebook account. There is a wealth of personal information in your Facebook profile that any hacker can utilize to gain access to your bank accounts. Yes, we know it is a terrible feeling, but don’t worry, all is not lost.

There are certain things you can do to recover from a hack attack. Begin by recovering your account before you start restoring your Facebook profile.

First is the obvious step: Don’t ever share your passwords, Facebook or otherwise, with anyone. That includes your friends and family. Always browse through a secure connection.

Don’t click on links you are not sure of. Flooding your newsfeed with suspicious links that you may be tempted to click is one of the tools that hackers use. Don’t give in to that temptation. Games, apps and offers are some such tactics used by hackers.

Accept ‘friend requests’ only from people you know. When you accept friend requests from people you don’t know, you are giving access to your personal information.

Understand the security policy of Facebook before signing up. One way to protect your Facebook profile from being hacked is by adding a secondary email ID. How? In the event that your profile is hacked, Facebook will send account recovery information to both your email ID’s.

Don’t post financial details on Facebook. Although this sounds obvious, there are instances where we inadvertently post financial and personal information on Facebook. And don’t go to any site that asks for personal information.

Don’t paste codes on to your browser tab. Although copy/pasting lines of code is easy, remember that hackers use your laziness to spread malware.

Don’t give permission to third party apps to access your Facebook account. Disable or remove those apps that you are not using presently.

Always keep your login notifications in active mode. This way, every time your account is activated you will receive a notification.

And don’t forget to report the hack to Facebook.

Don’t get into the habit of using recycled passwords. Try using new passwords that are unique and can easily be memorized by you.

Facebook may be your best buddy, your diary of sorts, chronicler of your life and an outlet for your creativity. And it is important that you keep your Facebook account as personal and secure as you can. These points can help your Facebook account be totally free from the hackers menace.

Author Bio: This is a guest post by Ron Schiff of xfinityonline, a site that offers savings and current information on xfinity.