It’s become really obvious over the last few weeks that more and more people are having their Facebook accounts taken over by spam accounts.
What these hackers do is alphabetically trawl through your friends, posting spam on their wall with links to websites which, no doubt, contain malicious software, crap promotions or phishing scams.
It was only the other day that my colleague was sat at her computer and got an alert from Facebook that she gets when she messages people – except she was not on Facebook. She had been the latest target, and immediately changed her password in order to stop the spammer mid ‘attack’.
So what can you do in order to protect your Facebook account from spammers?
Well, for a start – make sure you make clear the difference in being Facebook Raped, and Facebook hacked. Being ‘Fraped’ is a highly amusing past time conducted by friends updating your status to outrageous things – this can usually be avoided by ditching your current circle of friends, or simply logging out of Facebook once you’re finished.
To avoid being Facebook Hacked simply make sure you do the following:
-Avoid downloading dodgy stuff. This can be software that isn’t endorsed by a safe brand, rubbish porn or shareware items rigged with spyware – Be careful how you use P2P – used well it’s a great tool, but it’s also a great way to download something that could threaten yout systems security.
-Carry out regular spyware / adware scans. These little bastards can find their way into cheap software and free downloads, some designed to spam adverts, some designed to steal personal information such as log in details. I’ve used Adaware for years – you can get a free copy here
-Change your social network passwords regularly! Even if you have a rotation system going that only you know, it’s better than keeping one that could be hacked and used for spamming uses.
-Be careful where you log in! Your system may be a super safe place to access Facebook but other peoples systems may not be, which could result in being hacked from their system, even if you’rs is perfectly safe.
-Use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer. Sorry Microsoft – but it’s about as safe as a heart attack. Firefox / Google Chrome are a lot more secure and offer a lot better protection than Internet Explorer when browsing the web.
Overall just be a Savvy Socialist – keep your system clean and use initiative when downloading or installing things. Does it look safe? Have you scanned your system for a while? When was the last time you refreshed your passwords for important things?
Keep a tab on these things and you should be fine.
