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Facebook is an innovator, revolutionary and progressive organization, that has forever changed the way people interact. We have grown accustomed to Social Networking, as a personal and professional tool for human interaction. However, we are still in the incubus of this platform and as their innovations develop – so do those of the malicious. Every element of privacy and security is an puzzle for a Hacker to solve. Do they do this because they are trying to hurt someone or obtain their personal information for nefarious purposes? Or, do they view it as something to conquer simply because it is there? Who knows, but the fact is whether your Personal or Professional Profile is up – you need to know how to protect it.
Yesterday one of my clients informed me that her Facebook account was hacked into and her business page deleted. Her personal page hijacked and someone had done updates for an hour or so, without her knowledge. This has left her feeling not only violated, but frustrated. All her postings, discussions, articles and logos for her business are gone….POOF!!! There is no way of retrieving this information and it now must be completely rebuilt.
A specific email address and account name is applied when creating a business or personal Facebook Profile. If you or someone else deactivates your account – you can’t use that specific email address for another account. As many business use a professional email as their direct address for all communication; losing it is a challenge. It is a challenge to keep up with different addresses. This creates another challenge in rebuilding your Facebook page.
If you have experienced a Hacked or Compromised Account – be sure to contact Facebook. Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/help/?topic=security You can also go through their Help Centre.
A friend told her a way of making her connection secure whenever possible. I had not heard of this before – so thought I would be as kind as my client and pass this information along to you.
To create a more secure connection, go through the following steps.
- On the top right hand of your screen – click on the “Account” drop down menu
- Select “Account Settings”
- Under “Account Security” – click on Change
- Select the following:
| Secure Browsing (https) |
- Then click “SAVE”
If you would like to be made aware if someone is trying to access your account, selecting this option as well may be of help.
| When a new computer or mobile device logs into this account: |
If you would like to ensure that only certain information from your Profile is seen by certain people; the following steps may be of help.
- On the top right hand of your screen – click on the “Account” drop down menu
- Select ”Account Settings”
- Under Privacy select “Manage”
- Click on “Customize”
- Make changes accordingly
Blocking: If there are certain things that you don’t want certain people to see, you can. Here are some ways to stop certain people or organizations from viewing either your entire profile or parts of it.
- Under the Account tab, select “Privacy Settings“
- Under the grid (bottom) of “Sharing on Facebook”, click on “Customize Settings“ that is in blue font
- In each category there is the drop down menu that has the following options:
- Everyone
- Friends
- Friends of Friends
- “Customize” – select this one
Under this category you will see these fields -
- Make this visible to – and the drop down menu
- Input the names of those you wish to block from viewing that specific criteria
- Then click on “Save Setting”
Other helpful tips:
- Don’t put your full birthdate
- Don’t post an email address – you can be messaged through Facebook
- Ensure you are careful about the photos you post
- Get notifications about photos of you being “Tagged”, this allows you to go to those photos and decide whether you wish to delete or keep the tags
- Be careful about what is posted on your Wall, and who you allow to post on it
- Logout – after using Facebook
- Don’t have the “Keep Me Logged In” box checked
For more information from Facebook regarding Privacy and Profile Settings please click the various links below:
- Facebook Privacy Controls: http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php
- Facebook Privacy Policy: http://www.facebook.com/policy.php
- Facebook Privacy FAQ’s: http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=419
- Facebook Privacy Resources: http://www.facebook.com/help/?topic=privacyresources
- Facebook Safety Centre: http://www.facebook.com/help/?safety
Facebook has many great attributes. You can stay in touch with family all over the world, find old friends while keeping up with current ones. For Organizations, Communities, Events and Businesses, it is an affordable, effective and productive way to reach your audience. Using the “Privacy Settings” assists in protecting and separating your personal and professional profiles.
Facebook is like a living, breathing organism. The policies, procedures and formats are changing all the time. If you are using this as a business tool, it is essential to constantly update yourself on the changes. Maybe set a date in your calendar to review the Policies and Procedures. Take an hour or two a month to just play around with the format; this will help you discover changes to all the aspects of Facebook. This company is filled with innovators – so be sure the enjoy the innovations.
