Protect your FB account
If you have a Facebook you’ve probably noticed that the privacy freak out trend happens about three times a year.
A friend posts one of those wordy privacy messages on their page, and it catches like wildfire. The next thing you know, your feed is lit up like Christmas with those wordy, superfluous posts that do basically nothing to protect your information, pictures or posts.
Most of us are not strangers to the risk associated with our social media accounts. Generally speaking, if you’re hacked, you’re hacked. Unfortunately, people seeking access to your FB account likely have little concern regarding the last time you posted a privacy policy status.
FB adds government hacking protection
Facebook, since inception, has been at the forefront of social media protection. They include a whole section related to your safety options if you merely click on the small lock icon on the top right-hand side of your page. However, they’ve recently stepped up their game to include attacks from a more professional offender.
As of this fall, the platform informed facebookers that they would begin sending alerts to users if they suspect that an account has been hacked by a government entity. This measure has been taken because hacks of this nature tend to be more advanced. The warning will only be used if FB security professionals have strong evidence of a “government sponsored” attack.
The notification will look a bit like this (on a desktop):
Good on you, Facebook, but victims shouldn’t expect an explanation. The message from FB Chief Security Officer, Alex Stamos, specifically mentioned that in order to protect their procedures, particulars wouldn’t be released.
How to set up your alerts
Obviously, the best way to avoid having any privacy issues is by keeping your settings up to date. A few selections that the Facebook Security Team suggests are the Login Alert and the Login Approval options. These two settings work together like layers, keeping expert hackers out.
So how the heck do you get set up to receive these notifications?
It’s pretty simple.
Go into your general security settings (see picture above), and select “Login Approvals.” Follow the steps to receive your code. This security option sends a code to you that must be entered when attempting to logon. You’ll be asked to use this number when logging on from any unknown browser.
Another option is the login alerts opportunity. This security measure will notify you if someone attempts to use your account from another device or browser. You can select if you would like to receive notifications, and how you’d like to get them.
