My Facebook Got Hacked!

My Facebook Got Hacked! Thousands of people lose access to their social networking sites or email boxes with the most common being Facebook. The common term most people use is ‘hacked’. But in the majority of cases their password has simply been guessed.

Passwords are seen by some as a hassle. As such, they are often weak and easily guessed. Did you know the two most common passwords are ‘123456’ and ‘password’?

In our school internet safety presentations to students, we tell them it is unacceptable to have a password of their favourite friend, sweet, chocolate, sports team or any other word found in the dictionary. We encourage them to have a password consisting of letters, numbers and a special character. A phrase or passphrase is even better.

The downside of losing access to your social networking profile such as Facebook can be widespread. Invariably, the offender will start messaging your contacts with derogatory messages. They may think it is from you, or if they are internet savvy may realise your account has been compromised.

I’ve met students and parents who have experienced a lot of stress trying to think what the offender may have changed the password to.

Fortunately, Facebook have provided a quick way to regain access to your Facebook profile. The reason why they have made this feature available tells me that loosing access to profiles must happen quite often.

If you find that your Facebook profile has been compromised, find another computer with internet access and go to the following link: http://www.facebook.com/hacked

There you will find a page that will ask you for your email, phone or Facebook username. Alternatively, you can enter your name followed by a friend’s name. It will try and make a match and ask you some more questions.

Ultimately, following the simple principles in creating a strong password will keep you out of trouble. Remember, a password provides access to the most important stuff about us online. Let’s keep it important by using strong passwords.