Securing your Facebook account
I recently helped a Facebook friend secure his account after he accidentally got it hacked by a Nigerian 419 scammer/fraudster. The fraudster was using my friend's account to send scams to people on his Friends list via Facebook Messenger. He needed to change his Facebook password, but didn't know where to do it. This article describes how to do that.
If you are using the Facebook App (not a web browser) on a phone, tablet, or touch screen laptop computer, login to Facebook via the screen or desktop icon. Look at the icons along the top of your Facebook profile. At the far right is an icon with three horizontal lines. Touch that icon. A page opens labeled "Menu" on the upper left. To the right of the word Menu is a gear icon. Touch the gear icon to open your "Settings & Privacy" then follow these steps...
- Under the heading "Account" is a link labeled "Password and Security." When you press this link the first option is to check your "Important Security Settings." Do that and fix any serious issues.
- Afterward, come back to the Password & Security page and look under the heading: "Login" - where you will see: "Change password." Press that link and follow the on-screen instructions.
- Do not reuse an old password as they get stolen from hacked online databases. Create a strong new password that can't be guessed by a random stranger or a hack-bot using a dictionary attack to crack known words. Better yet, if your browser offers to create a strong password, let it and have the browser save/remember it.
- Note, you might have to add a punctuation mark, capital letter, or a number to the new password if the input field complains that the password must contain at least one of this or that character.
If you are using Facebook in a web browser, rather than an App, on a desktop or laptop computer, read the extended content for instructions for changing your Facebook password.
Doing this on a computer, via a web browser (e.g., Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, etc.), is a little bit different and much easier to navigate with a mouse pointer. Here's the sequence...
Log into Facebook in your preferred web browser (and keep it updated for best security) and go to your main profile page; the one where you can edit your cover photo or your profile. Under your name and current profile photo (in a circle) is a bar with 7 text links starting on the left and three dots on the right. Click on the three dots. An options menu will open. Click on the bottom option: "Profile and Tagging Settings." Follow these links to get where you're going.
- In the left "Settings" sidebar click on "Security and Login."
- In the right pane, scroll down to the heading: "Login" and click on "Change Password."
- Your current password should appear as dots in the "Current" field if you told your browser to remember you user name and password for Facebook. If the dots are not shown in that field, type it in to continue. If you can't remember your password, click on the link "Forgot your password?" and wait for either a text message or email from Facebook and follow the instructions in it.
- With your password either already displayed as dots, or typed in, move down the the next input field labeled: "New" and type in your new password, or let the browser choose a random strong password for you and put it into that input field. You might have to add a punctuation mark or number to the automatically generated password if there is a note complaining that the password must contain at least one of this or that.
- Copy that new password and paste it into the "Re-type new" input field. Then click on the button labeled: "Save changes."
You may be in the habit of writing down your passwords on pieces of paper, or in random text files, or saving them in your web browsers that will fill them in for you when you revisit those websites that require you to log in. None of those methods are safe or secure. Paper can be lost or pilfered. Files can be copied. Browser login databases can be cracked and user names and passwords stolen by malware like the Redline Stealer Trojan. If you're wondering if there's a better way to save passwords there is.
Rather than writing down and updating your passwords on stick-m-notes that someone could pocket, or saving them in a text file that spyware might discover, or storing them in your web browser's database that could be hacked, consider storing them in a secure password manager. A password manager uses encryption to protect the passwords stored in it. The manager links to your web browsers and will only fill in a user name and password if the website's URL (website name and extension) matches what's saved in the manager's database. And best of all, a good password manager like Dashlane protects its database with multi-level authentication.
Changing your password is but one step securing your Facebook account. But, if a cyber criminal has really hacked into your account and knows your password, you must change it to regain control and keep that person from posting spam and scams to your Facebook friends, in your name and from your account. However, if that fraudster has changed your password, you will have to contact Facebook Security and try to convince them you are the actual owner of that account.
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