How To Protect Your Account From Hackers

If you spot any unusual activity on your Facebook account, here’s how you can regain control and prevent future attacks.

In most cases, one’s Facebook account is the top-of-mind platform for anyone who’s trying to know more about you, whether that’s friends, colleagues, or—in the worst case —hackers.

Once you get compromised, one of the easiest ways to resolve this is to permanently delete your account. But that’s not always an option as there might be important information yet to be extracted. Your next best alternative, therefore, is to take safety measures to secure your account.

If you have issue with your existing profile, you can always buy verified Facebook accounts to start all over again.

Reasons Why Hackers Want Your Facebook Account

In some lighter cases, it can be someone who’s just trying to pull off a practical joke. But for most, it can be a case of personal sabotage, revenge, or corporate espionage. This often involves blackmailing. Your hacker might threaten you by exposing private photos or sending inappropriate messages to your friends and family.

Your Facebook account can also be hacked for commercial purposes. There are people involved in the Dark Web who pay for unique usernames. In return, they lock you out, stake claim on your account, and sell it to someone else.

Ways to Protect Your Facebook Account

Here are important tips you should follow to prevent hackers from gaining control of your FB account:

Adjust your privacy settings

Facebook allows you to control who can access your content. In the “Privacy” tab under “Settings,” you can edit who is allowed to see your posts, send messages, and if you can be found through external search engines.

Pro Tip: Enhance your Facebook account’s security by creating a strong password, distinct from those used for other apps and services. Consider employing a password manager to ensure uniqueness and complexity. Additionally, activating two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of protection, making unauthorized access significantly more difficult. These steps greatly reduce the risk of hacking incidents, safeguarding your personal information and digital presence.

Create a strong password for your FB Account’s access

Facebook is connected to other apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram, using one password for all can be dangerous. Once the hacker figures out your login details, your other accounts might get compromised as well.

Use a password manager to ensure the strength and uniqueness of your details.

You can also enable a two-factor authentication found on Facebook with the following steps:

Click on “settings & privacy” and then “privacy shortcuts”.
Search for the tab “Account Security”.
Click on “Use two-factor authentication”.

If you find yourself experiencing the frustrating phenomenon of Facebook logging you out randomly, you’re not alone. This can be particularly bothersome, especially when you’re in the midst of an important conversation or browsing session. One common cause for this issue is Facebook’s security measures kicking in, prompting a logout when it detects activity from an unrecognized device or location. To address this, ensure that your account security settings are configured correctly. Enabling features such as two-factor authentication can provide an extra layer of protection against unauthorized access, minimizing the likelihood of encountering the Facebook logout issue.

Take control of tagged posts on Facebook

While you can’t always delete tagged photos, just untag yourself to remove them from your account. Under “Settings,” you can find the “Timeline and Tagging” tab. From there, you can change who is allowed to post on your timeline, tag you on photos, and who can view those tags. Turn on the “Review” settings to check beforehand all posts before they can be published on your timeline.

Edit your Facebook friends list

There are posts worth sharing to the public, while there are some who are reserved for certain people. Facebook allows you to segment your friends into lists, so you can select the audience for every single one of your posts. Opt to hide your friend list as well since this gives away information about you as well.

Turn off face recognition setting

Your profile is home to multiple photos of yourself from different angles. Turn off face recognition to save yourself from potential social engineering or identity theft. To do this, click the “Face Recognition” tab under “Settings.” Click “Edit” and choose “No” as an option to deactivate this feature.

Related Post: How To Clean Up Your Facebook Account

FAQs About Protecting Your Facebook Account

Here are some FAQs about Facebook account hacking:

How will I know if my Facebook Account was hacked?

If no “threats” have been made apparent, you can still spot traces left by the hacker. To check, log in to your account and click on the “Account” button on the right. From “Settings & Privacy,” select “Settings.” Below, you’ll find “Security and Login.”

At the very top, you’ll see a list of devices used to log in to your account and when they were active. Some other signs you should look out for include:

Your personal data, including login details, were suddenly changed.
Messages were sent to your contacts without your doing.
Your timeline consists of posts you didn’t publish or permitted.

What can I do once my FB account gets hacked?

If you’ve experienced any suspicious activity or signs mentioned above, you need to act fast.

If by luck, the hacker hasn’t changed your password yet, update it immediately. Under “Settings” > “Security and Login,” select “Login” and click “Change password.” Set a stronger new password and save changes. After, log out of all registered devices.
On the other hand, if you’ve been locked out. Try to regain your account. You can find a “Forget your password?” link below Facebook login. This allows you to enter the e-mail address or phone number you used to register. Facebook, then will send you a recovery code.
Report your account as compromised, especially when the hackers start to spam your friends or post inappropriate things on your timeline.

There’s really no single way to protect yourself from hackers but using all this information is already one step closer to getting better security. Remember, always take caution whenever using social media.

Rajat Garg

Rajat is a digital marketing specialist with more than 8 years of experience. Here at SocialAppsHQ, Rajat helps to manage social media campaigns for businesses all over the world and share valuable content through blogging.