A few of my friends have been hacked on Facebook recently. Their accounts were overtaken by someone they did not know who took that opportunity to attempt to get their friends to follow a link to probably even more malicious software (aka malware).

Below is a list of ways to avoid having your Facebook account hacked. 

First and foremost is do not click on any links that you do not recognize. If you scroll over the link with your mouse without clicking it, you should be able to see on the bottom of your screen where the link will take you. If it has an obscure address, don't click it. Here are some more ways to avoid the pain of being hacked from Adam Levin, chairman of Credit.com:

• Change your Facebook name.

This doesn't have to be a radical change. Just a tweak will do. For example, instead of using Andrew Brian Rourke, change it to Andy Rourke or Andrew B. O'Rourke. "It's anything you can do in order not to allow someone to create building blocks to recreate you," warns Levin. "And your name is a critical part of that."

• Don't reveal your real age.

Either remove your birthday entirely from your Facebook profile information or only include the month and date. "People have this obsession of giving their age online. You can, if you have a desperate need to get birthday wishes every year, then give the month and the day," Levin told The Wall Street Journal. "You don't have to give the year. Or give a different year."

• Don't reveal your location.

While you should never post that you're on vacation in Tahiti for two weeks, which broadcasts that your home is empty, you also shouldn't take photos in your home. Something called "geotagging" automatically reveals your location, including longitude and latitude. "[Geotagging] will ultimately lead someone to where the photo was taken. A lot of people love to take photos in their home and say, 'Here's my new piece of art,'" cautions Levin. To turn off the geotagging feature on an iPhone, go to Settings, Privacy, Location Services and turn it off.

 

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