Categories: Security

Your Guide to Tightening Facebook’s Security Settings

Facebook is, by far, the most popular social networking service: there are more than 1.5 billion users worldwide. That’s more users than Twitter and Instagram have combined. It’s no wonder that the website has become a popular target for hackers, especially now that we can send and receive money through the site. However, there are many steps you can take when it comes to the security of your Facebook account. A lot can be accomplished simply by tightening your account’s security and privacy settings.

Privacy Settings
There are a lot of different aspects of your Facebook account that you can change. Altering your privacy settings is one way to make your account more secure. To do this, click the “padlock” symbol. This will take you to your account settings, where you can adjust a variety of features on your account. Click the “privacy” setting. Here you can control who sees your posts or sends you friend requests, who can search for you on Facebook, or who can link to your profile. In addition, you can alter who sees your posts or photos, or review any posts that you’re tagged in before they are made public. The more you limit your audience to “friends” only, the more secure you make your account.

Security Settings
The next step to a more secure Facebook account is to adjust your security settings. Here you can:

Get a notification or email alert whenever your account is used on an unknown device
Require a login code to access your account on unknown browsers
Choose a trusted contact to access your account in case of an emergency
Review which devices you’re currently active on
Choose a “legacy contact” who can take over your account in the case of your death
Deactivate your account

Some of the other security features are slightly more complex. If you choose to activate “login approvals” (this is when you require a login code on unknown browsers), you can further strengthen your account through additional steps. Activating login approvals will give you access to Code Generator, a feature that creates a unique security code every 30 seconds. You can use this code in addition to a password, or even to reset your password.

Another cool feature is a “one-time password.” This is a good option if you want to log on to Facebook on public Wi-Fi. On Facebook’s Help page, you can find a number you can text that will assign you a one-time temporary password.

Other Tips to Keep in Mind

Make sure that you have a secure email address associated with your account.
Download PSafe Total to protect your devices from security threats.

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The dfndr blog is an informative channel that presents exclusive content on security and privacy in the mobile and business world, with tips to keep users protected. Populated by a select group of expert reporters, the channel has a partnership with dfndr lab's security team. Together they bring you, first-notice news about attacks, scams, internet vulnerabilities, malware and everything affecting cybersecurity.