Your Page Hacked

7 Tips to help prevent your Facebook from being Hacked!

It’s easier to hack into an admins account, than it is the actual Facebook Fan page. Once you’ve hacked into an admins account, you get access to the Facebook Fan Pages he or she admins!

HACKING HURTS, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR FAN PAGE ITSELF IS HACKED.

There are many different ways your Facebook account can be “Hacked”. The most malicious and damaging form of hacking occurs through phishing, or when a hacker gains unauthorised access to an account after the user has clicked through to a fake app or link. Once the user has clicked through to the link or app the user will be redirected to a page that looks almost identical to that of Facebook’s login screen. If the user then enters in their username and password without identifying the page as a fake, the hacker will then have complete access to their account. The hacker is now able to utilise the users account to spread the infection further via their newly acquired friends.

How your account can be hacked?

1If it looks suspicious, it’s probably is

If you don’t like the look of a post, link or App, do not click on in it. Obvious right? Yet people continue to fall into the trap. Most malicious links or Apps will offer you something too good to be true or use statements like “Shocking”, “Embarrassing”, “Unbelievable” or “Check This Out” in an attempt to draw users in to clicking through. If you are in any doubt as to the nature of any posts from a “Friend” do not click on it, there is no point risking being hacked for a cheap thrill.

2Don’t be a Friend whoreIt‘s in our nature to want to make friends, but it’s also in our nature to want to compete with others and to have more Facebook friends than what our real life friends have.

Hackers, understanding that it’s in our nature and take advantage of a Facebook user’s eagerness to grow their Facebook friends list by sending out a countless number of fake friend requests. They hope to fool the user into accepting at least three of these fake requests.

Why three you ask? Facebook has measures in place to allow users who lose or forget their Password and secret answer to recover there account with the help of three of their “trusted friends”.

To gain access to your account, all a hacker needs to do is pretend that they are you and that they have forgotten your account password and secret answer. Once they have been directed to the Facebook password recovery page they are able to, with the help of the three fake friends you have previously approved, reset your accounts password. After a 24 hour freeze out period following the password reset, the hacker is able to have full access to your account.

This method of hacking is especially concerning to businesses that may be operating a Facebook account for marketing purposes, as they are more likely to blindly accept Facebook Friend requests in an attempt to increase their reach. This is one reason why businesses should only set-up Facebook fan pages and not personal profiles to promote a business.

3 “Password” is not an acceptable Password

Having a strong password will not prevent your Facebook from being hacked if you have fallen victim to one of the many phishing swindles hackers attempt. It will however make it incredibly difficult for hackers to gain direct access to your account through less extensive and more primitive hacking techniques. The most primitive technique is simply making a calculated guess of a person password. The users; name, their wife, boyfriend, sibling, pet, birthday or the word password are examples of passwords hackers expect people to use, due to their easy to remember nature.

4 Always check the URL

The aim of phishing is to get the user to unknowingly share their Facebook login details with the hacker. The most common way hackers achieve this is, is by tricking the user into entering their Facebook details into a fake Facebook login page

A clear indication of a fake login page is found within the URL of the page. Although hackers can make exact copies of the actual login page, they are unable to use the same URL.

5Don’t grant permission to unknown or suspicious Applications

One of the most popular features within Facebook is Applications. To be able to use, or access most applications you are required to grant access to the application to use some of your personal information and to promote the group via your wall. Most applications that ask for access are trustworthy and genuinely need access to your information, but there are some Apps out there that are designed specifically to exploit the access you give them.

6 Beware the “Smart Phone”

It is becoming increasingly more popular for Facebook users to access their accounts via their mobile phones, with many mobile phone service providers even offering free access to Facebook as part of their service. Although smart phones and free access makes it easier for users to check their Facebook accounts it may also be making it easier for hackers to hack their accounts.

7Enable Secure Browsing

Final tip, Facebook now allows its users to put their Facebook Profile in a type of safe mode. Putting your Facebook in to this safe mode means that the information that is transferred between you and Facebook is now encrypted, meaning hackers are unable to easily intercept the information being sent and received.

https://www.facebook.com/hacked

PROTECT YOUR ACCOUNT BY CLICKING THIS LINK

If you think your account was taken over by someone else, Facebook can help you secure it with the above link. This process can also help if your account or computer has been affected by a virus or malware.

KISHORE KANKIPATIUX Designer, Digital Marketing Consultant