How to Stop Hackers with the New Facebook Account Security Setting

Your Facebook account has been hacked. With the amount of personal information people post to the social networking site, it's possibly one of the more disastrous things that can happen to a person online. What would be even worse is being hacked and not knowing it.

Recently Facebook announced a new security feature to help users detect hackers quickly through special notifications sent if an unauthorized device is used to log into their accounts. These login notifications can be turned on by going to the Account Settings page and clicking on the word "change" next to Account Security, and then selecting the "yes" radio button.

The next step is to log out of Facebook and log back in again, in order to register the device (desktop computer, laptop, mobile phone) you are using. A list of registered devices will be visible in the Account Settings, and any time a new device is used to access your Facebook profile you will be notified by email. An SMS message can also be sent, if desired.

Facebook Account Security: Does It Stop Hackers?

Facebook claims that if an unregistered device is used to access your account, security questions will be asked. If you have not set a security question, Facebook will create a challenge such as asking you for your birth date, or to identify a photo of a friend. This is supposed to stop hackers from accessing your account, before they can do any harm.

Facebook Account Security: What if a Hacker Does Access My Account?

So what happens if you are hacked by someone who knows your birthday and can identify your friends? Well, Facebook will notify you if an unregistered device has accessed your account. You can then log into Facebook, where you will remove the device that should not be accessing your account and follow up by changing your password. What happens once a device is "removed" is unclear. I can only assume that device will be blocked afterwards.

Facebook Account Security Uses Cookies

When you register a computer with Facebook, a cookie will be set on your hard drive. If you are using software that deletes cookies, you will need to set it to keep the Facebook cookie. If the cookie does get erased, for whatever reason, don't worry. You can simply register the computer again.

When Should I Avoid Registering a Device with Facebook?

Do not register shared or public devices, such as a computer you use in a library or internet cafe, or a shared computer at your workplace. While this doesn't give automatic access to your account (a hacker would still need to get your password to log into Facebook), it does make it one step easier for someone to get into your account without your permission.

Other Tips for Securing Your Facebook Account

Always be sure to log out of Facebook when you are finished using it, especially if using a shared computer. Don't give your password to anyone else, and change it every so often. The strongest passwords use a combination of capital and lower case letters, numbers and punctuation marks. Choose a password at least 6 characters long. Do not use words from the dictionary or proper names. It is best to also avoid using numbers that can be easily associated to you, such as a birth date, address or phone number, identification number, etc.

Facebook Vice President for Public Policy, Elliot Schrage, recommends that users "Like" (actually, he used the older expression "become a Fan") of the Facebook Site Governance page to stay abreast of policy changes. He also said users will find important announcements if they "Like" the About Facebook page. A third page that users will find useful is Facebook Security.

While clicking that "Like" button is the recommended action, it may not necessarily mean you will be notified directly when there are changes - or that you will see the message if one comes. I had to wade through dozens of screens in my news feed before I saw the one message from Facebook about the new security feature. There was nothing in the updates section of my messages, either. And when I saw the information posted by a friend, I couldn't find a single mention in Facebook's Help Center. I would recommend that users bookmark these key Facebook pages, and check them regularly for updates. It's also a good idea to refer to them if there are rumours of changes, or if you notice Facebook seems not to be operating normally.

Turning on Facebook Login Notifications: Slideshow

If you need help to walk you through the process of adjusting your account security settings, you can watch this slideshow for step by step instructions.

Sources:

"Facebook executive answers reader questions" New York Times

"How to: Get notified when someone hacks your Facebook" Samuel Axon (Mashable)

"Staying in control of your facebook logins" Lev Popov (Facebook blog)