ideaLaunch Blog

Lately, there’s been a lot more hacking going around – and we’re not talking about the people coughing up a lung from the swine flu. This past week, I’ve seen a bunch of Twitter and Facebook accounts of friends / followers featuring spammy status updates and out-of-character direct messages (DM) with links to random e-businesses.

It’s safe to assume they’ve been hacked.

If you’ve been busy with your content marketing, nothing can be more embarrassing or reputation damaging than someone going into your account and sending off messages about erectile dysfunction on your behalf. If you’ve been there or if you’d like to avoid it, check out these tips for preventing and dealing with a hacked Facebook or Twitter account:

Stop Sneaky Software
If you don’t already have an up-to-date security program running on your computer (firewall, virus protection), download one now. Many companies offer trial periods, but this is one thing you should really bite the bullet on and buy. A hacked Facebook or Twitter account is annoying … a hacked bank account is an entirely other beast.

Anti-virus software:

• For Windows:
  http://www.microsoft.com/protect/viruses/xp/av.mspx http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/default.mspx
• For Apple/Mac OS:
  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

If you do have a security program on your computer, ensure it’s up to date (may mean restarting your computer) and try running it to ensure the scan comes back clean.

Anti-virus software not only prevents viruses from being downloaded onto you computer, they also quarantine them, kill them and can even spot websites that are shady. Phishing sites are websites that are made to look like a legit homepage but in reality are only a front to gather your username and password. When people enter their username and passwords, thinking they’re just logging in, when really their info is being given away. Anti-virus software can often spot these.

Don’t Feed the Phish!
If you spot a Phishing site or are suspicious of one (take a look at the url – if there’s something weird about it, it may not be legit), don’t enter your info. Instead, send the url or original Phishing message (often an e-mail with a link) to the security or customer service department of the website you’re trying to access and have them confirm if it’s ok or not. Better yet, if you’re suspicious of a link from an e-mail, Tweet or status, don’t even bother clicking on it.

Pump Up Your Passwords
I’m pretty sure we all have a few hundred passwords to our name and they’re tough to all remember. You should, however, change them up now and again (roughly twice a year). If your information has been captured by someone, you can make that information outdated pretty quickly. Also be sure to make your passwords as dynamic as possible. Your password should never be “password.”

Bounce Apps From the Club
Depending on your for apps and widgets, you might be allowing different companies a set amount of access to your Facebook or Twitter account. Make sure no one unwanted has snuck on there.

• For Facebook: Log in, look at the very bottom-left corner of your web page and you’ll see a button called “Applications” (it sits there sort of like the “start” button in Windows). Click it to edit your Apps. You’ll then see a drop-down menu that gives you different options on the kinds of Apps you can view. Look through them. If you see an App you don’t recognize or don’t want to have access to your profile anymore, click the “x” next to you (the last item in the column).

• For Twitter: Log in, and go to Settings. There, click on the tab “Connections.” You can remove programs automatically as needed by clicking “Revoke access.”

Tags: facebook, security, Twitter

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 5:09 pm and is filed under Twitter, facebook. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.