Morning!
Imagine the following. You access your Facebook to see truly disgusting comments and photos attributed to you…on YOUR wall….posted, apparently…. by YOU.
Talk about quite the icky situation, aye?
The thing is that malicious hacking (not to be confused with what I do, which is tearing apart complex things and hacking them together into something that works grand) is always a potential damaging issue.
And I’m not even talking about serious, “get your credit card” type hacking…instead, I’m focusing social media hacking.
You know…
- When your “friend” gets access to your Facebook password because perhaps…you forgot to password your computer?
- The “teacher’s aide” who calls to tell you it’s school policy that students and parents give access to their Facebook accounts, reads you off your profile name and then smoothly segues into asking for your password?
This is a true major blorgascious ickness indeed…and something that can really crush your spirits, business and family relationships too!
Luckily, there are 3 blindingly simple thingees you can do to reduce the above to a minimum.
And it’s this.
Mhr>
Step 1.) Tell your friends to IMMEDIATELY call you when your facebook wall isn’t normal
While I’m all for using technical solutions too, of course, this is rather grand because ideally, your friends look out for you!
Some friends might see it as a big joke and think you would too; by spelling it out, you ensure your network has at least a vague clue that “YES! Telling ABC that someone is impersonating him and begging for money might be a Good Thing!”
Here’s what I did:
Kinda sorta difficult to misinterpret that, aye?
Simple….but do you what it’s doing that technical solutions do NOT?
It’s tapping into PFP – Positive Friend Power!
In other words, it’s human nature to want to give our friends a headsup when something is obviously more wrong than a 3 headed moose snowboarding down the Sahara dunes.
But sometimes, our friends overthink reactions, and figure, well, it’s not MY place to say something!
So by giving such a headsup, you greatly increase the possibility that your network will have your back covered.
Sure, you can also choose awesomely hieroglyphic passwords like:
- www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Password-You-Can-Remember
- www.wikihow.com/Read-and-Write-in-1337
- www.brighthub.com/computing/smb-security/articles/28267.aspx
But if someone has accessed your account because you forgot to log out….you’re kinda sorta hosed anyways, you see?
Yep.
Now, should your social media account actually BE hacked, there are several things you must do immediately.
They include
1.) Do NOT Panic.
Common sense, I know…but every second you spend indulging in panic are seconds being used by icky folk to do nasty things.
2.) Secure your Facebook account
Facebook offers a rather nifty help page for this over at
Nice! Go thru all the steps.
Then:
3.) Change your password.
Ideally, lock your account back!
You can get all sorts of Facebook security information over at
4.) Verify your email address hasn’t been changed
Chances are it was…and your friends are sending money to the malicious hacker’s account. 🙁
Other useful security tips with Facebook include:
- Set up that you’re notified whenever your account is accessed from a previously unused device:
access that page over HERE.
- Set up you need to present login codes when logging in from an unknown device:
access that page over HERE.
btw, after you log in next with your passwd should you do the above, you’ll see the first time something like:
Other grand help can be found at
I really like this page – it also explains how to use the Trusted Friends ability (pick 5 friends who can help you recover your account).
Thing is, Trusted Friends on Facebook is NOT available on all accounts:
Wah!
Ah well, these thing happen. 🙂
In closing, remember, social engineering can almost always conquer pure technical preventions (ie, you can be tricked into giving up account information, leave your login on by mistake, etc.).
Thus, tap into PFP and give your account that added boost.
Your sanity will thank you for it.
Grow strong,
Barbara Ling
I turn chaos into simplicity
Get Started Here
You’ll love what you learn… Promise!