Five ways your facebook account can be hacked
Access to Facebook is very easy, which is why it is equally simple for people to steal your password and gain access to your account. Knowing how they do this will guide you in protecting your account. Below are five ways hackers steal your password:
Facebook applications, causes &ads
Do not just click on any ads or applications on your Facebook wall that you are not familiar with.
There have been numerous cases of people getting viruses from Facebook ads, or releasing private that were not supposed to be released.
Phishing for Facebook passwords
Recently, Facebook has been a target for spammers who utilise the “phishing” technique to obtain personal details from users.
When you receive an email supposedly from Facebook and you click on the link, although you’ll visit a page that looks like you’re logging into Facebook, you’re actually providing the spammer with your Facebook password details.
For every mail you get, observe the status bar for the actual URL link (not the URL text in the email). If the link is something other than Facebook.com, it’s very likely that the email is a fake.
Websites integrated with Facebook
Websites, blogs and large businesses usually incorporate the well-recognised Facebook and Twitter buttons onto their pages.
Knowing this, hackers camouflage a false Facebook login page by making it look like an authentic share button. When users click on the fake Facebook button, the hackers automatically get hold of the users’ credentials.
Instead of clicking on the share button, open Facebook in another browser and visit the sites on the Facebook browser you have opened. You can then use the share buttons. Authentic buttons are plugged into the Facebook Application Programming Interface and they will recognise that you are already authenticated.
Desktop and online applications
Third-party apps and other social networking sites have the ability to pull data from and also post data on your Facebook account.
Some of them may be bogus apps set up to gain access to Facebook authentication details. Before you install an app and provide your Facebook login details, check the web for reviews from users of the app (or check if it’s listed at Make Use Of).
Logging in on public computers
Using public computers to login into your Facebook account is dangerous because of the “keep me logged in” button under the Facebook login fields.
The “keep me logged in” basically ensures that no matter where else you browse to, or even if you Facebook tab, that browser session remains authenticated. If you go to Facebook in any cyber café where the Internet browser is left opened, more often than not, you’ll find that the last person that accessed Facebook is still logged in.
Fake chat pop-up Ads
Another recent phenomenon to fool people into logging into their Facebook accounts is the fake chat pop-up. According to http://www.makeuseof.com, these ads are known to clone a Facebook chat pop-up. It looks like a random person is trying to chat with you from where the Facebook chat is usually located.
If you click on the chat window, it may take you to a Facebook phishing page. Or, it may just be an advertisement for a porn site or other products that you very likely have no interest in.
Source :The Punch
Facebook applications, causes &ads
Do not just click on any ads or applications on your Facebook wall that you are not familiar with.
There have been numerous cases of people getting viruses from Facebook ads, or releasing private that were not supposed to be released.
Phishing for Facebook passwords
Recently, Facebook has been a target for spammers who utilise the “phishing” technique to obtain personal details from users.
When you receive an email supposedly from Facebook and you click on the link, although you’ll visit a page that looks like you’re logging into Facebook, you’re actually providing the spammer with your Facebook password details.
For every mail you get, observe the status bar for the actual URL link (not the URL text in the email). If the link is something other than Facebook.com, it’s very likely that the email is a fake.
Websites integrated with Facebook
Websites, blogs and large businesses usually incorporate the well-recognised Facebook and Twitter buttons onto their pages.
Knowing this, hackers camouflage a false Facebook login page by making it look like an authentic share button. When users click on the fake Facebook button, the hackers automatically get hold of the users’ credentials.
Instead of clicking on the share button, open Facebook in another browser and visit the sites on the Facebook browser you have opened. You can then use the share buttons. Authentic buttons are plugged into the Facebook Application Programming Interface and they will recognise that you are already authenticated.
Desktop and online applications
Third-party apps and other social networking sites have the ability to pull data from and also post data on your Facebook account.
Some of them may be bogus apps set up to gain access to Facebook authentication details. Before you install an app and provide your Facebook login details, check the web for reviews from users of the app (or check if it’s listed at Make Use Of).
Logging in on public computers
Using public computers to login into your Facebook account is dangerous because of the “keep me logged in” button under the Facebook login fields.
The “keep me logged in” basically ensures that no matter where else you browse to, or even if you Facebook tab, that browser session remains authenticated. If you go to Facebook in any cyber café where the Internet browser is left opened, more often than not, you’ll find that the last person that accessed Facebook is still logged in.
Fake chat pop-up Ads
Another recent phenomenon to fool people into logging into their Facebook accounts is the fake chat pop-up. According to http://www.makeuseof.com, these ads are known to clone a Facebook chat pop-up. It looks like a random person is trying to chat with you from where the Facebook chat is usually located.
If you click on the chat window, it may take you to a Facebook phishing page. Or, it may just be an advertisement for a porn site or other products that you very likely have no interest in.
Source :The Punch
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