Facebook Vulnerability to Hacking?

Facebook Vulnerability to Hacking?

One in five internet users have had their email or social networking account hacked or taken over without permission (Pew Research Centre report). Is there a possibility of your Facebook account getting hacked? Well, if Mark Zuckerber’s account can be hacked, odds are that so can be yours.

Facebook, the most popular social networking site has become an integral part of many people’s lives today. The desire to socialize and connect makes us overlook various privacy threats associated with virtual socialization and information sharing.

People can spy or stalk you on your Facebook account for various reasons and in several ways. This stalking is not confined to your friends keeping tabs on your Facebook updates. People can actually hack into your account and gain complete access to your messages and private information. They can spy, harass and exploit your information.

Why would somebody hack your account?

There aren’t just criminals who could spy on your account for identity theft and illegal activities. Ordinary citizens or even people who are close to you can spy or even hack your account.

Parents use software such as Facebook spy to keep track of their teens’ Facebook usage. This is absolutely justified. However, all other forms of Facebook spying are reprehensible and cause for concern.

Facebook accounts are hacked every day out of sheer jealousy or anger. They can be hacked by suspicious spouses or boyfriend/girlfriend. Obsession is the most worrisome motive behind account spying. Obsessive stalkers can make a person’s life a living nightmare leading to depression or social isolation.

Some people might just want to satisfy their curiosity to know more about you and intrude into your privacy. There are also the “mischievous ones” who would do it just for “fun’s sake”.

These human foibles are blatantly exploited by spyware developers. The search engines are laden with pages providing details on how to hack a Facebook account.

One does not have to be an IT security researcher to access an account. Various software’s are available along with information on hacking techniques. Anyone with basic computer knowledge can use them.

How would somebody hack your account?

There are various techniques to hack into somebody’s account. Facebook itself provides the most basic loophole for security breach. One of the simplest and least technical ways is to reset someone’s password by knowing their email id. Facebook asks a security question. All one has to do is to make an educated guess. If someone is close to the victim, this isn’t very difficult.

If the hacker is unable to answer correctly, Facebook might ask them to specify three friends that would receive the login details. If some of their close friends are in the victim’s list it won’t be an issue to acquire those details. If the victim is prone to recklessly adding new contacts, the hacker could always make fake accounts for this purpose.

A keylogger is a program used to record every stroke on a keyboard. There are software and hardware keyloggers available that can be used to track everything you type, including your passwords. While a hardware keylogger requires a USB drive to be connected to the actual device, a keylogger software can be remotely installed mostly via a link in an email.

Phishing is another, comparatively difficult technique used to hack a Facebook account. This is done by making a fake Facebook page and sending a link via email or in a message on Facebook. Giving out login details on such a page transfers them to the hacker thereby giving them complete access to your account.

People who use Facebook via cell phones can also be spied on by installing Facebook spy apps on their phone. It hardly takes a few minutes to install such software. The victim’s Facebook usage and activities can be covertly monitored through an online account.

If a hacker is on the same Wi-Fi network as yours, they can steal important information through cookies. Cookies are small text files that contain information about a person’s internet usage. This does not give the hacker login passwords, but they still can access an account.

There are various software and techniques to prevent Facebook hacking. However, the easiest and best precautionary measure is to share less and with fewer people. It isn’t easy to stop a hacker bent on accessing your account. People who share less personal information are comparatively safer from the evils of Facebook.

Natalia David has been writing articles about latest trends in the tech world for a very long time. She can be reached @NataliaDavid4.