Many people write to me: " a friend of mine says he can read everything I write, as he does"> Answering this question is more trivial than you think: The options are two, or is it a bluff or has used one of those techniques most used to steal passwords on the internet which, as you can read, are mainly based on deception than on real technicalities. The problem is that there are still many people who totally neglect basic internet security precautions and, with reference to Facebook, treat the account incredibly superficially.
The biggest mistakes are the use of ultra simple passwords, the use to access an email address no longer used and the complete neglect of the various settings made available by Facebook to protect the account.
In this post we see what these tools are and how to protect Facebook in order to know how to recover the account in case of problems, to prevent any "hacker" from stealing access, not to leave anyone open to spy on the activity or do whatever he wants.
1) Add a phone number to the account and an email address that can always be accessed
This contact information is essential to regain access to Facebook in case of problems.
Contact information can be filled out on the Profile Information page.
Furthermore, it is advisable to mark at least 2 existing and functioning Email addresses and at least one existing mobile number.
Do not worry about privacy, for every detail it is possible to set " Just Me " visibility thus hiding this information from other users.
To change your personal data, you need to enter your Facebook password, this to prevent someone else from changing this information if you have forgotten to log out.
When adding an email address, a confirmation email will be sent to the primary email address.
As a safety precaution, this confirmation includes a link that allows you to cancel the request to add a new email.
Be careful to update your mobile settings if you change your phone number otherwise it may become impossible to access your profile.
Contact information is essential to recover the account and, in this regard, you can read:
- The guide to enter Facebook without password if the account has been hacked
- Recover Facebook login and password if you don't log in anymore
- What to do to recover the hacked Facebook account.
2) Update your password
One of the biggest risk factors for an account in general and for Facebook in particular is the use of a weak password or the use of the same password for all online accounts.
In the general Facebook settings, click on the Change button next to password and change it if you haven't done it for a long time, by writing an alphanumeric password that is not a real word.
In another post, some tips for creating a strong password for all websites.
3) Activate access notifications
To receive the login notification to your Facebook account via email or SMS, go to Settings> protection and click the corresponding option.
In another post there is the guide to prevent unauthorized access to Facebook by receiving alerts via Email .
4) Enable access approval
This is perhaps the most important step to securing Facebook and being 100% protected from possible intrusions of any kind.
Access approval means that every time someone (also you) wants to access your Facebook account from a device that has not been previously authorized, they will be asked to enter a security code.
This code is sent to the user's mobile number via SMS.
In another article there is the guide to enable Facebook login with security code and access approval .
Facebook is also one of the sites for which access with double password verification can be used.
Keep in mind that if your browser settings prevent the storage of cookies or if you browse in private or incognito mode, your computer may not be recognized as authorized and you must log in using a security code.
5) Check where we connected to the Facebook account
In the security settings, you can see the devices you are logged in from, i.e. computers and mobile phones or tablets that you are logged in to.
If you notice some strange and unrecognized activity, terminate it immediately and change your password.
6) Protecting photos on Facebook and hiding them to show them only to friends is possible, as seen in another guide where it is shown that you can also publish photos of children with a reasonable guarantee that they remain private.
7) Define trusted contacts
In the general security settings you can write the names of 3 trusted friends on Facebook who will be useful to recover the account in case of login problems.
8) Avoid clicking on shared posts that seem, and almost 100% are, hoaxes or phishing attempts
If you happen to read particularly strange or sensational news on Faceobook or if you receive messages in chat that invite you to click a link, always better to avoid because it could be a virus.
We also talked about this in explaining how Facebook is used to infect users' PCs with malware.
Among other recommendations, you should always remember to log out of the Facebook account (by clicking on the down arrow at the top right) after having finished using it if you use a computer that is not your own or shared with other people.
You also need to be careful of malicious Facebook applications, among which viruses can easily hide.
Finally, if it has not yet been done, it is worth using the Facebook privacy control tool, recently made available to simplify all account privacy settings.
Finally, I refer to the Facebook security checkup page that explains in detail everything we have summarized in this post.
