By B.L. Ochman
Yesterday, an email from my buddy, Toby Bloomberg, founder of All the Single Girlfriends, alerted me to the fact that my Facebook page had been hacked. As it turns out, I’m one of more than 45,000 Facebook users whose Facebook accounts – and most likely also email accounts – have been hacked.
I’m still cleaning up the mess. Facebook certainly hasn’t helped.
Here’s the video I clicked on:
Has Facebook acknowledged the problem? Have they apologized? Have they offered a fix? No way!
Because, as usual, Facebook really could care less about its users’ privacy.
How it happened.
Here’s what happened and what you need to do to prevent your Facebook account from being hacked.
1- I clicked on a video posted in a trusted friend’s page. He’d been hacked too, but didn’t know it, until I email him with the bad news.
2- That apparently let loose the Trojan Ramnit, which has existed in one form or another since at least April 2010, has now “gone social” and is using Facebook to spread.
3- I immediately changed my Facebook password.
4- Firefox also was compromised because every link I opened re-routed to a blank page, or to Facebook.
5- I uninstalled Firefox, downloaded it and re-installed it. The same thing kept happening.
6- I went to my Facebook security settings and discovered that half a dozen apps, including Zynga’s Cityville, had installed themselves in my account and sent me welcome emails.
7- I deleted all the apps, changed my Facebook password again, added my cellphone and another level of security.
8- New apps proliferated.
9- I dug down many layers in Facebook to find the page where you can tell them your account has been hacked. It suggested that you change not only your Facebook password, but also the password of the email you use to log into Facebook.
When any other site gets hacked, and many do, they have the common decency to send out an email to let you know that you should change your password and they tell you what they’ve done to fix the problem and prevent it from happening again.
How to find Facebook’s security information
Security information is on Facebook, buried about six levels deep. Of Facebook’s billion members, 5 million liked the Security Center page, which I guarantee you won’t find in a casual search. Likegate Hint: you have to Like the page to see the information it contains! (Scroll down for how to keep your account safe.)
Facebook? Silent!
A Facebook rep told ZD Net that the information that was stolen was from out of date accounts. Wrong!
And Facebook claimed that most of the hacks happened in Europe. Thousands happened in the US yesterday – including my account.
How to keep your account safe.
So what should you do to keep your Facebook account safe? Besides deleting the whole damn thing? Here are the steps to take:
1- Change your Facebook password. Make it strong. Include numbers and letters. Don’t use the same password you use in other accounts or in email.
2- Go into your account settings and delete any apps that have installed themselves. Review permissions you have given to apps to be sure you still want them to access your account.
3- Log out of Facebook.
4- Change the password in the email account you use to log in to Facebook.
5- Delete your browser and re-download it.
6- Log back in to Facebook. Keep monitoring your account.
7- Log out of Facebook EVERY time you leave it. There simply is no reason to leave it open, because that apparently leaves you more open to being hacked.
8- Turn on https:// browsing in your Facebook settings
9- Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know/haven’t met.
10- Don’t click on suspicious links. You’re really not going to win an iPad for clicking on a link.
Consider switching to Google+
At least Google lets you know when they screw up and tells you how to fix it.
Here’s more bad news:
• More than four million Facebook users experience spam daily.
• More than 20% of Facebook newsfeed links currently open viruses
• 600,000 Facebook logins are compromised daily – that’s 7 every second.
Source: Zone Alarm
I’m so sorry to read that your Facebook account was hacked but very grateful to read this post with its helpful tips. Will share with my networks.
Thanks for your detailed write-up on this. Did this trojan get past your anti-virus software?
I’m on a Mac, so I was ok once I uninstalled Firefox and re-installed it. Also changed my email password and upped my security settings to highest possible on Facebook.
There is no excuse for them not saying anything about this. Big Fail by Facebook. I think Zynga got hacked because all the apps that installed themsleves were Zynga apps.
Sorry this happened to you BL and thank you for sharing your advice on the best ways to keep our Facebook accounts safe. Too bad you don’t work for Facebook. They need you.
Now there’s an idea! Are you listening Facebook?
B.L.
My email, facebook AND google plus accounts were hacked. All my addresses were stolen and removed along with all my “friends,” contacts and circles. It was a nightmare. Followed much the same process as you did. The key is to pick a strong and long password and don’t stay logged into anything online. Also do not “save” the passwords or “check keep me signed in.” In my case the hacker actually went into my email and redirected all future emails to his address (which looked a lot like mine.) I was steaming.
yikes? when did that happen Teri?
hmmm.Sorry to hear that your facebook account hacked and thanks for sharing these tips to secure your facebook account.:)
Hi, my facebook has been hacked, and account recovery failed because one of my friends did not get to the email fast enough. I have emailed the security folks at FB, they emailed me back once for further information, which I provided, and have heard nothing since. I tried to do account recovery again, and now get the message “your account is temporarily unavailable”. This has been going on for a month. Are there outside companies that can intervene, and basically hack back in so that I can regain control of my account? Or is this a lost cause? Thanks!
This is just positively crazy!! My boyfriend has had his Facebook and AOL accounts hacked. Account recovery is no help since your information must must match WHATEVER THE HACKER HAS CHANGED THE INFORMATION TO!! YoU can’t deactivate an account unless your logged in. If you could login, you could just change everything and there would be no need to deactivate!!!! Facebook HELP CENTER is useless in this aspect because it does not even address this instance. I know where MY mother was born, however, I DO NOT KNOW WHERE MY HACKERS MOTHER WAS BORN which has been changed. Useless.
Hi
My facebook account has been hacked and the hacker has changed my email address and I cannot even log in to my account anymore.
Do you know how and who I can contact to have my account deactivated? I have totally no access to my account and no way to get into my account anymore.
Can someone pls help?
Not only is it now overpopulated with your competition, but it is also overwhelmed with status
updates by the millions of accounts. If only
those pictures were not so heart tugging and the
posts so cleverly written, Facebook like scams would
be easier to prevent. ” There is a pretty simple solution to this, but just how you go about opening Facebook in China will depend on how long you’re going to be here.
Next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not
fail me just as much as this particular one. After all, I know it was my choice to
read, but I actually thought you would probably have something useful to say.
All I hear is a bunch of crying about something you
could possibly fix if you were not too busy looking for attention.
Thanks for your comment on this post from 2012. Glad you think I could fix Facebook’s problems with massive hacks, which continue at a steady pace until as recently as last month.
Perhaps you can fix Facebook. Millions of people would appreciate your efforts.