Fighting Back Against Facebook Hackers

By Barbara Perone
If your Facebook profile gets hacked, get up, go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” No, wait, that’s what that crazy, head-soaked, raincoat wearing, geriatric news anchor shouted during that famous scene in the 1976 movie “Network.”
As News Anchor Howard Beale said, “first, you’ve got to get mad …” And then, you’ve got to get even — with the crumb who posted offensive stuff on your wall. So, here are a few tips on how to foil the evil-doers from foisting any further attacks on your precious Facebook homepage or anywhere else in your profile.
Create anew password
This will thwart identity thieves from putting the “gone phishing” sign on your wall. To change your password go to Account Settings/Email. Change your primary email address to a new one, remove the old address, then, click Save. If you used your Facebook password for LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ or any other social media accounts, or profiles, change all those passwords, too.
Run a free virus scan
Your cranium doesn’t have to be hollow to figure this one out. You’re doing this to make sure the attack wasn’t an inside job like a Trojan horse or malware, etc., planted inside your computer. To learn how to run a free PC virus scan visit www.pcsupport.about.com.
Delete application permissions
Again, this is pretty obvious. Discontinuing permissions to web applications and games you’ve used in the past, that made use of your Facebook login, just makes good, common sense.
To check your applications (a.k.a. apps), go to your homepage. Look at the upper right corner, select Account, then, select Privacy Settings. From the lower left corner, look under Apps and Websites. Click the Edit Your Settings link to reveal the applications that have access to your profile. Some apps provide the ability to post on your wall or your friend’s wall. Delete any unfamiliar apps.
Lock your account
If, after you do all that, you continue finding bizarre stuff on your wall, you may have no other alternative but to lock your account; to do that, go to www.facebook.com/hacked. If problems persist you may have to – steady now– delete your account.
Deleting Your Facebook Account
Once you delete your Facebook account just remember that your “friend list,” comments, messages, cute family photos, everything will be gone forever.
If you’ve made up your mind to take this drastic step, go to the Delete Facebook Account page and click “Submit,” then follow the rest of the instructions there. Supposedly, if, after two weeks, you change your mind, the theory is that you will still be able to log back into your account. But, after two weeks it will all be gone. Test this theory, anyway, just to see if you can get back in.
It’s up to you to decide how far you want to go if you think your private information has been compromised due to a Facebook hacker. Whatever you decide to do, just remember, human resource folks and hiring managers are constantly trolling social media websites just looking for any weird stuff posted on a person’s profile. So, whatever you do, you have to act quickly to prevent potential employers from seeing anything that might hurt your chances of being called in for an interview or considered for a job.