Mar
22
Facebook Login Home Page Security Tips
March 22, 2011 | 26 Comments
To keep your Facebook login account secure, it’s important to observe password-protecting habits, proper account maintenance and general safe-surfing practices. Make use of Facebook opt-in security features. Learn to recognize what “phishing” is and what to do in case your account is compromised or you forget your password. Don’t wait for an emergency situation to happen: act now to prevent it.
See also Facebook login help.
Facebook Login Welcome Screen
First, familiarize yourself with the Facebook login home page.
10 Tips on How to Protect Your Facebook Login Password
Your password is the only barrier that protects your account from malicious persons. Here are some things you can do to protect it.
- Make a strong password that has a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and punctuation marks.
- Do not use passwords that can be guessed from your Facebook login bio information, statuses and other things you post there. For example, if you let everyone know your wedding anniversary, it is not safe to use it as part of your password or security question.
- Change your password on a regular basis. Make it something you can remember easily, but not anyone else.
- Do not use the same password for your other accounts, such as email and online banking.
- Never share passwords with anyone. Your girlfriend today could be your vengeful ex tomorrow. If you have shared, make sure you change it.
- Never disclose your password through email. If someone claims to be from Facebook and asks for your Facebook login password through email, do not believe it.
- Encourage friends to keep their accounts secure. If one Facebook friend account gets hacked, it would put everyone else’s account at risk. Show your mom and dad or grandma ways to protect their accounts.
- Sign in through www.Facebook.com. Type “www.facebook.com” in your browser. Do not sign in through a link in an email, even if the message claims to be from Facebook.
- Use only a secure connection. That is, use the “https” version of Facebook when you use it. To enable secure connection, go Account Settings > Security and check if Secure Browsing is enabled or not. If not, click edit and turn it on.
- Use a temporary password to sign in to Facebook in a public or shared computer. This is the Facebook login one-time password that you can request via mobile text. It will expire within a short period. With an OTP, you do not have to enter your regular password in a public computer where a keylogger or hacker may intercept it.
 Figure 1. Main Facebook login page for registered users. |
What to Do When You Forget Your Facebook Login Password
If you ever lose your Facebook password, all is not lost. You can still reset it.
To reset your Facebook login password:
- Click Forgot your password? on the Facebook welcome page
- Enter your email address in the form and check your mail.
- You will receive a verification link and code. Click the link or enter the verification code in the password recovery form.
- Type a new password and you’re set!
To help with password recovery in case you forget the password to your Facebook account:
- Associate several active email addresses and mobile phone numbers to your Facebook account.
- Create a security question with an answer that you will not forget and which no one else can guess. (If you are not 100% sure about this, do not use it. You cannot change your Facebook security question.)
- Verify your account through your mobile phone.
- Enter accurate and up-to-date information in your account.
Tip: Use the password strength indicator to make sure you device a tough password.
Tip 2: When you change your password, update your contact info. Add an email address or phone number, and remove whatever you don’t want to link to your account anymore. You should always keep this information up-to-date.
6 General Facebook Login Account and Password Safety Tips
- Do not copy and paste a link or script into your browser. It could be malicious code that could compromise your account.
- Never click links in emails or messages if you aren’t sure what they are. Even if the mails appear to be from people you know or from an official body like your bank or Facebook.
- Run anti-virus software. And keep it updated. I like the free AVG program, but now I use Kaspersky PURE. Whatever you use, make sure to enable its Internet safety features, like “safe search” automatic download scanning.
- Download and install the latest updates for your software. This includes your operating system (Windows, etc.), your Web browser, your antivirus program, WordPress plugins, etc.
- Store your passwords in a secure password manager. And make sure you never lose the “master password” to it or the password database file. Back up your password manager files.
- Do not install cracks, keygens or pirated software on your computer. These may have harmful programs such as keyloggers that can steal your login information.
Keeping Your Facebook Login Account Information Up-to-Date
Facebook relies on some essential details to communicate with you, to verify that you are the owner of your account and to help you recover your account in case of problems. This includes your password, email address, phone number, security question (if you have one set up) and even your list of friends. For example, if you need to reset your password, Facebook can send a reset link to the email address(es) listed in your account. If you need to use a temporary password in an unsecured computer, you will need a mobile phone number to get one. And in extreme cases, Facebook can help you get back in your account with the help of trusted friends.
So it’s important to keep your account info updated. If you change or lose access to your email address, then make changes to your Facebook account accordingly. Same with your phone numbers. See How to Edit Facebook Login Account Information.
What Is Facebook Login Phishing?
Malicious people know that only one thing stands between your Facebook account details and them – your user credentials. This is why they try to get them through what is known as ‘phishing.’
[Note: For clipart sources of the image below, see BoatClipart.com and Cliker.]
 Figure 2. Facebook Phishing. Image credit: BoatClipart.com, Clker.com /td> |
Phishing is an attempt to gather information such as usernames and passwords, usually by pretending to be some reputable company like Facebook. The phishing may start with an email or some other type of communication, like an instant message, purporting to come from an official source. The email has a link that leads to a fake website which mimics the real company’s site, such as Facebook. Even the domain name may look similar. The goal of phishing is to trick the recipient into giving out their account information by signing in to the fake website (using their credentials from the real site). So if you have an online bank account and get a phishing email, and you sign in to the counterfeit banking site, you just gave those phishers your account name and password for the actual bank.
Facebook is a prime target for phishing. To protect yourself:
- Beware of emails that claim to come from Facebook, asking you to log in to the site through a link in the email.
- Don’t be click-happy. Don’t just click links in an email or anywhere else. Beware of Facebook-sounding domains.
- Log in directly to Facebook. Type www.facebook.com/ in your browser to sign in. Do not use links in an email. And double-check your spelling when you type the Facebook domain.
- Change passwords often.
- Get the latest updates for your Web browser(s).
- Do not friend people you do not know.
- Read the official Facebook blog for news.
- If you suspect or realize you have signed in to a Facebook phishing site, or if your account has been compromised, visit the Facebook Security Help page for assistance.
A sample of a fake Facebook email may look like this:
 Figure 3. A fake email phishing for Facebook passwords may look like this. /td> |
See also a Softpedia article.
Tracking Facebook Logins and Active Sessions
How would you like to be notified when another computer or device attempts to log in to your Facebook account? The opt-in security features called Login Notifications, Login Approvals and Active Sessions offer you just that. With Login Notifications, you can receive alerts when an unknown or unconfirmed computer or device tries to sign in to your account. Login Approvals goes a step further and requires you to approve logins from new sources. Active Sessions lets you view a list of recent sessions and also lets you log out of Facebook remotely.
For more, see Active Sessions and Login Notifications: Can You Log into Facebook from Multiple Computers?
 Figure 4. View your open Facebook logins via Active Sessions. /td> |
Should You Use a Facebook Security Question?
Another security measure that Facebook recommends is the security question. When you get a Facebook account, you can choose a security question that helps verify your identity with the site. You select a question and enter the correct answer once. Later should you forget your password and lose access to the email address(es) associated with your account, you can use the question. To choose a security question, go to Account Settings while signed in to Facebook and click Security Question.However having a security question is not always a good idea. Before deciding to set up your security question, consider:
- You can set your security question and its answer only once. There is no way to change it afterward.
- Someone else might be able to guess the answer to your security question if they know you well enough.
- A stranger might be able to guess the answer too if the answer is a fairly common word or your publicly visible information gives clues to it.
If you decide to use a Facebook security question, check that they are safe to use. Here is review of security questions and the possible issues with them.
- In what city or town was your mother born? If your mother has a Facebook account of her own, this bit of information could be displayed on her profile page. Not to mention all your mother’s relatives and close friends must know it.
- What are the last five characters of your driver’s license? At first you might think, no one can guess this. But does your ex know? What about a close family member? Could the answer be written down somewhere unsafe?
- What was the last name of your first grade teacher? Look in your friends list. Do you have old classmates from your childhood? What about relatives who would remember the answer to this? If you were homeschooled, the answer might be too obvious.
- What street did you live on when you were eight years old? Same as the other questions. What if you have a friend on Facebook who knew you when you were at that age?
With the photos and personal information you have in your Facebook account, it is vital that you protect your login information. By doing so, you can have a better, more secure experience with your favorite social network. See also: Facebook Help Center: Recovering your account with your security question and Recover your account through friends.
Still can’t log into Facebook?
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Comments
26 Comments so far
Links
Add blog to our directory.
Well done you good
hello everyone good morning
hello
Iam astudent in cairo university Iam studying pharmacy I caught facebook to recognise more new friends all over the world
I want to recognise new friends
I want fond new friends
thanks 4 bringing up something like FB i wouldn’t have known many pple 4m diff places like that
I got some kind of facebook security something on my screen and now I can’t get into facebook and all my facebook friends on games are gone can u help me please.
People need to start minding their own buisness, and staying out of other people’s stuff. People do need some privacy in this world…
hi
hi how do u get on facebook,youtube,and other block websites @ school
hello
my account is opened as a different type .so pls help me make cure my profile.
well its awesome every body need some privacy and its was simply cool wabsit great job keep it up
@ Angela Burns : It’s the peoples perogative to put whatever they feel on whatever they want. If they want to put their business on facebook then they don’t care who knows therefore doesnt need to be private.
[...] Go to the Facebook log in page. [...]
[...] is an avid WordPress blogger and Internet marketer and writes about niche marketing, SEO, Facebook and various computer and technology [...]
[...] Internet marketing articles, making money online, tips on Facebook, blogging with WordPress a [...]
Could you please let me login facebook. I try several way like changing DNS but I always received an error massage
I have a page on facebook named MAI NGUYEN related to email address: [removed by admin]
I can not access the page Since January 2012. Could you please help me to solve the problem
Nguyen Van Mai
Are you talking about a Page or a Profile? If it’s a profile, can you not reset the password and have it sent to that email address?
[...] contributed by Blog Lady. Visit bloglady.net for more Internet marketing and SEO tips, Facebook login help, WordPress tutorials and more. [...]
[...] Type your username or email address and your password in the Facebook login page. [...]
[...] Type your username or email address and your password in the Facebook login page. [...]
[...] case… But personally, I delete what I have no use for as time permits. For example, in my Facebook and Internet marketing blog, I’ve removed many older posts or at least revamped their [...]
[...] USA and abroad. She also enjoys graphics design and web design. Visit Blog Lady for articles on Facebook, WordPress and SEO. window.___gcfg = {lang: "en"}; (function() { var po = [...]