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How to tell if your Facebook account has been hacked
Remember that issue with Facebook, the one where it was learned a hack into their system led to more than 50 million accounts being compromised? It was a big deal, but we’d understand if it did not really sound any alarm bells for you.
After all, it seems like every few weeks now there is some problem with Facebook, be it hacks, leaks, the selling of data or something else that is unsavory. Regardless, it was a pretty big deal.
It was so big, in fact, that there were legitimate concerns over the last week or so when people started sharing messages about their accounts being hacked and sending out fake friend requests. That was apparently a hoax, but the concern was real.
As long as accounts were hacked, anything was truly possible.
But what does that mean for you? The question really becomes whether your account was hacked or not.
Here’s how you can find out
Back when the hack was initially announced, one of the ways to know if your account was caught up in it, or at least might have been, was that their access tokens were reset, meaning they had to log out and log back into their accounts.
Those impacted may have also received an email, just as Kim did as her account was apparently part of the mess. It looked like this:
Around 90 million people dealt with that, and at the time, Facebook said it thought that might be the end of the problem but that they weren’t entirely sure. As their investigation into the matter went forward, they knew there was a chance more hacked accounts would be discovered.
Did you not get the email or have your tokens reset?
If that’s the case, you probably were not part of the late-September hack. Still, if you’d like to make sure your account has not been hacked — then or at any other time — there are some steps you can take.
First, you will want to open up the settings page. Online, that means clicking on the downward triangle in the upper-right corner and moving the mouse down to “Settings” before clicking on it.
On a mobile device, you will want to tap on the three horizontal lines located on the lower-right part of the screen before scrolling down until you see “Settings,” which you will want to tap on.
From there, you will want to find “Security and login,” which you will either click or tap on.
That will bring up another page with the section for “Where You’re Logged In,” which essentially shows you all the devices from which your account has been accessed and when they were used.
You should know what kind of computer you have used to log into Facebook, as well as what smartphone or tablet. If everything checks out, you’re probably in good shape. If something seems off or there are some devices you do not recognize, you can flag it by tapping or clicking on the three vertical dots to the right (on both computer and mobile), and selecting “Not You.”
There are signs to look for, too
One of the most obvious is things being posted onto your page without your knowledge or doing. If you see that start happening, there’s a good chance you’ve been hacked. Another thing to be mindful of is friend requests being sent out by you that, of course, you did not send.
You would need to in part rely on the people receiving the requests to let you know.
Also, if your personal information or passwords have been changed, there is an issue you will have to deal with.
Even if none of this is an issue, it would not hurt to every now and then change your password. Make sure it is unique to Facebook so that if something were to happen and it was learned by a hacker, they would at least not have access to anything other than that specific account.
For more on how to improve your Facebook security, tap or click here.
How about taking a break from Facebook? Moving on from it entirely?
After the Cambridge Analytica fiasco and now this massive data breach, it’s essential that you secure your Facebook data as much as possible.
But after the latest event, if you are feeling apprehensive about Facebook right now, you can take a break by either deactivating it or part with it for good by deleting it completely.
If you don’t want to leave but want to take a break, tap or click here for steps to take to deactivate.
Had enough of all the Facebook data security lapses? Here’s how to delete your Facebook account for good.
Businesses and celebrities are choosing to dump Facebook
Tags: computer, devices, Facebook, matter, misinformation, security, settings, smartphones
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