Friday, February 4, 2011

Quick Facebook fix could save you from hackers

I'd be the first one to say Facebook's privacy and security settings are far too maze-like and complex. So when I heard about this quick and easy change I could make to my settings that could potentially save me from hackers, I jumped on it. (Or as the smarmy Russian millionaire in my favorite Direct TV commercial would put it, "I jump in it."). Basically, it's a change that lets you access Facebook using the same kind of secure "https" setting as you get when you access your banking account and the little lock symbol appears at the bottom of the screen. If you're going onto Facebook via a public connection at a bookstore or coffee shop, hackers can't get to your account.

Just go to "Account" in the upper right corner of your Facebook page, then "Account Settings," then "Account Security." Put a check mark on the dialogue box that asks if you want to use a secure connection whenever possible. You'll also see below it a notification telling you where your account was last accessed from, and what kind of browser and operating systems were used to do it. If you see a location that doesn't look like yours, follow Facebook's advice and click "end activity." (Mine was accessed yesterday from Greensboro, it says. I wasn't in Greensboro yesterday. Not sure if that could be some sort of server or internet service provider weirdness, or if some sleazeball's cruising around my account. But I clicked end activity, and asked to be notified anytime a new computer accesses my account. You should do the same).

7 comments:

  1. The HTTPS Everywhere plugin from the Electronic Frontier Foundation is also recommended. Makes Firefox use https by default for numerous sites.

    https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere

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  2. Thanks, did it two weeks ago... "Jude" showed me how.

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  3. Greensboro showed up on mine as my Droid device. Just a heads up if you use your smart phone it may come up differently.

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  4. Don't be too concerned about Greensboro showing up as the last place your computer accessed facebook. That has to do with your internet providers settings, not your exact location.

    After changing my settings 2 weeks ago, my computer in South Charlotte show up as Statesville.

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