One of the most popular social networking sites is Facebook. It ensures a spam-free and secure environment. Developers are working on it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make it better. Although it is extremely difficult to breach Facebook’s security, no guarantee can be given. Nothing is beyond of reach. Hackers, like developers, are attempting to find new ways to breach Facebook’s security.
Hundreds of allegations of Facebook hacking may have reached you. It is not required for hackers to target only government leaders and celebrities. Ordinary individuals are occasionally targeted, and their accounts are frequently utilized for spam purposes. Because ordinary users have very little security protection, it is incredibly easy to hack them.
If you believe your Facebook account has been hacked and want to learn more about what happened, this article will show you how to examine the situation. These indicators are sufficient to establish that you have been hacked.
1. Login to your Facebook account
If you haven’t checked your Facebook account yet, the first thing you need do is log in. Simply enter your email address and password on the Facebook sign-in page. If you can access your account, it doesn’t imply you haven’t been hacked. It’s possible that a hacker has access to your account and hasn’t changed the password.
If, on the other hand, you get an error message such as “Sorry for the inconvenience! You used an out-of-date password. On [date], your password was updated. Click here if you don’t recall making this change “While login in, there is a clear indication that you have been hacked and that your password has been changed.
In that situation, you should obtain a new password right away in order to regain access to your account. It’s fairly straightforward. Request a new password using the link sent to your registered email address or cellphone number. Please change your passwords on other social networking sites, such as Twitter or Instagram, if you’re using the same password elsewhere.
2. Check activity log
Facebook keeps track of everything you do on the site, including which posts you like, where and what you publish, and so on. If you can access your account, you should review your activity record to see what you’ve done in the past. In the majority of cases, hackers utilize accounts to send spam. They may make posts to your timeline and groups, send messages to your pals, or follow pages and individuals they don’t know.
All of this information may be seen in your activity log. To access it, go to your profile and click the “View Activity Log” button next to your cover photo in the upper right corner. You must manually evaluate all of your account actions from this page. You can also pick a certain sort of tale by filtering them using the left sidebar menu (ex: likes, posts, pictures). If you discover anything you hadn’t done before, it’s likely that someone else accessed your account while you were away.
There are two options available. Either you’ve been hacked or certain applications (to which you’ve given permission) are spamming your account. If you use auto liker or other automated bots, for example, you’ll start like unfamiliar posts automatically. I’d already written an article about how to uninstall auto-liker apps from your Facebook profile. If you’re having the same issue, change your password as soon as possible and cancel all undesirable app access to your account.
To do so, first pick “Settings” from the drop-down arrow icon in the top-right corner of the webpage (the same button from which you logout your account). From the sidebar menu, select the “Apps” tab. Here you’ll see all of the applications and games to which you’ve already granted permission. Hover over the program you want to uninstall and click the cross icon (x) next to it.
Re-check your activity log after some time has passed, and hopefully you will not notice any additional unidentified actions. If the problem persists, disable your Facebook account for a period of time to prevent additional automated bots from attaching to your profile.
3. View active session
Facebook, like the activity log, keeps track of active sessions. You can see where your account is currently logged in. Return to the settings page and select “Security” from the sidebar menu to locate it. Now, next to the “Where you’re logged in” option, click the edit link to get a comprehensive list of all your active sessions.
Each session comprises three pieces of information: the last time it was accessed, the location it was accessed from, and the type of device it was used on (including both browser and device name). Now go through all of the active sessions and give them a once-over. Check to see whether they’re all yours. You can terminate a session at any moment if you discover an unexpected device or location.
Your account will be immediately logged out of that device or browser when you remove it. It’s also a good idea to update your password.
4. View trusted devices
If you’ve enabled two-step verification on trusted devices, you won’t be contacted or asked to prove your identity. It’s possible that the hacker adds his device to a trusted device list. Return to the security page and click the edit link next to the “Your Browsers and Apps” option to go through it again. Here you’ll discover a list of all your trusted devices, along with their dates, dating back to the first time your account was established.
If you come across an unusual browser or program, uninstall it immediately by selecting the “Remove” button next to it, since you may have been hacked. This functions in the same way as an active session does, in that deleting it will instantly log you out of your account, and the hacker will have to pass the security check as usual to finish the login procedure.
5. View login alert mails
The next two ways are for individuals who are unable to access their account and wish to determine whether it has been hacked. If you’ve enabled Facebook login notifications through email, you’ll get an email every time someone (you or the hacker) tries to log in to your account.
Simply connect into your email service (such as Gmail or Yahoo!) and analyze all of your login alert letters to see who has hijacked your Facebook account. The hacker login information will very certainly be found here (such as date and time, location, device and browser or app name). You may get your account back at any moment by requesting a new password.
6. Ask your close friends
Last but not least, you might seek advice from your close friends on the subject. As previously stated, some hackers utilize hijacked accounts to send spam. They may make inappropriate posts and messages. Those messages or postings from you may have been seen or received by your pals. If this happens to you, it signifies your Facebook account has been hijacked.
You can simply explore the case this way. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below. Is there something I’m missing? Is it possible that your account has been hacked? How did you get it back? Please let me know! Keep an eye out for more intriguing lessons in the future.