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Facebook is, undoubtedly, the most popular
social networking website with more than 1
billion active users. Due to its popularity,
many hackers (or should I say crackers?) are
actively involved in hacking Facebook accounts
of unsuspecting users. This article outlines the
many strategies that such hackers use to gain
access to Facebook accounts of hundreds of users
each day and how you can stop them from hacking
your account.
Email Address Hack
Most
people leave their email addresses visible on
their Facebook profiles. All a hacker then needs
to do is know your name and he will be
conveniently shown your email address at your
profile. Also, most people share their email ids
everywhere. How easily a hacker can then hack
your Facebook account (and everything else
associated with that email id) if he 'guesses'
your password (if you use a weak password) or
answers your security question! Here are some
tricks you can use to protect yourself from this
vulnerability.
How to safeguard your Email Address?
Just follow these steps:-
-
Hide your Email Address from everyone by
going to Edit Profile>Contact and Basic
Info>Clicking on the gear icon beside your
email address> checking 'Only Me' if you
have not done so already.
-
Change your primary email address to a one
that is only known to you by going to
Settings>Email> and changing your primary
email to the new one (known only to you) and
removing your previous email address.
-
For additional security, when in Account
Settings, enable Login alerts to receive
notifications and emails when a new computer
or mobile device logs into your account.
-
Also, enable Login Approvals to receive a
code on your mobile phone to login whenever
your Facebook account is accessed from an
unknown device. Login Approvals will need
you to have added a mobile number to your
Facebook account.
-
Moreover, enable two factor authentication
to access your email addresses on your email
provider's website as well to make sure that
no hacker can exploit them to hack into your
Facebook account.
Phishing
Phishing is one of the easiest ways to trick
users into giving out their login credentials.
All a hacker does is setup a webpage similar in
design to that of the Facebook homepage, attach
a server sided script to track the username and
password entered and store it in a log. Sending
people emails stating that someone tagged a
photo of them on Facebook in the same format as
Facebook and giving a link below to the phishing
website further reduces the chances of it being
detected as a fake. Sometimes, spam Facebook
apps, like those promising to tell who viewed
your Facebook profile, automatically post links
to phishing websites. A new trend amongst
phishers is creating Facebook look-a-like
widgets for stealing user's login credentials.
How to prevent yourself from being phished?
At all costs, avoid clicking on suspicious
links. Moreover, always check the URL in the
address bar before signing in. Avoid logging in
through various "Facebook widgets" offered by
websites and blogs. Instead, use Facebook's
homepage to sign in. Always try to use Safe
Search on search engines while searching. If you
do manage to get phished, report the website so
that others may get a warning before visiting
it.
Keylogging through Keyloggers
Keylogger is a type of computer virus that
tracks key strokes. Keyloggers can be installed
remotely on a computer system by a cracker to
record all the activity that is going on the
victim's computer. Keylogging gets more easy if
the hacker has physical access to the victim's
computer.
How to stop keyloggers?
Install a good antivirus and update it
frequently. Do not click on suspicious links and
avoid downloading illegal software. Also, avoid
installing free toolbars and other such spam
software. Always scan third-person's flash and
pen drives before using them on your computer.
Social Engineering
Social engineering involves using any trick to
fool the user into making himself vulnerable to
exploits. This could involve anything from
sending spoof emails, pretending to be from
Facebook, telling you to change your password to
12345678 to a hacker maliciously getting out the
answer to your security question in a friendly
chat or discussion.
How to prevent yourself from being socially
engineered?
Stay aware during chats and discussions. Use a
tough security question, preferably one whose
answer you would never disclose to anyone.
Moreover, Facebook, or any other company for
that matter, will never ask you to change your
password to 12345678 or do something as silly as
asking you to send out your login details to
prove that you are an active user. Always think
before taking actions and your e-life on
Facebook will be safe from hackers looking to
hack Facebook accounts.
Sources:-
www.tweakandtrick.com
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