4 Ways to Crack a Facebook Password and How to Protect Yourself from Them
Despite the security concerns that have plagued Facebook for
years, most people are sticking around and new members keep on joining.
This has led Facebook to break records numbers with over one billion monthly active users as of October 2012—and around 600 million active daily users.
We
share our lives on Facebook. We share our birthdays and our
anniversaries. We share our vacation plans and locations. We share the
births of our sons and the deaths of our fathers. We share our most
cherished moments and our most painful thoughts. We divulge every aspect
of our lives. We even clamor to see the latest versions even before they're ready for primetime.
But we sometimes forget who's watching.
We
use Facebook as a tool to connect, but there are those people who use
that connectivity for malicious purposes. We reveal what others can use
against us. They know when we're not home and for how long we're gone.
They know the answers to our security questions. People can practically
steal our identities—and that's just with the visible information we
purposely give away through our public Facebook profile.
The
scariest part is that as we get more comfortable with advances in
technology, we actually become more susceptible to hacking. As if we
haven't already done enough to aid hackers in their quest for our data
by sharing publicly, those in the know can get into our emails and
Facebook accounts to steal every other part of our lives that we
intended to keep away from prying eyes.
In fact, you don't even have to be a professional hacker to get into someone's Facebook account.
It can be as easy as running Firesheep on your computer
for a few minutes. In fact, Facebook actually allows people to get into
someone else's Facebook account without knowing their password. All you
have to do is choose three friends to send a code to. You type in the
three codes, and voilà—you're into the account. It's as easy as that.
In
this article I'll show you these, and a couple other ways that hackers
(and even regular folks) can hack into someone's Facebook account. But
don't worry, I'll also show you how to prevent it from happening to you.
Method 1: Reset the Password
The
easiest way to "hack" into someone's Facebook is through resetting the
password. This could be easier done by people who are friends with the
person they're trying to hack.
The first step would be to get
your friend's Facebook email login. If you don't already know it, try
looking on their Facebook page in the Contact Info section.
Next, click on Forgotten your password? and type in the victim's email. Their account should come up. Click This is my account.
It will ask if you would like to reset the password via the victim's emails. This doesn't help, so press No longer have access to these?
It will now ask How can we reach you? Type in an email that you have that also isn't linked to any other Facebook account.
It
will now ask you a question. If you're close friends with the victim,
that's great. If you don't know too much about them, make an educated
guess. If you figure it out, you can change the password. Now you have
to wait 24 hours to login to their account.
If you don't figure out the question, you can click on Recover your account with help from friends. This allows you to choose between three and five friends.
It
will send them passwords, which you may ask them for, and then type
into the next page. You can either create three to five fake Facebook
accounts and add your friend (especially if they just add anyone), or
you can choose three to five close friends of yours that would be
willing to give you the password.
How to Protect Yourself
Use an email address specifically for your Facebook and don't put that email address on your profile.
When
choosing a security question and answer, make it difficult. Make it so
that no one can figure it out by simply going through your Facebook. No
pet names, no anniversaries—not even third grade teacher's names. It's
as easy as looking through a yearbook.
Learn about recovering
your account from friends. You can select the three friends you want the
password sent to. That way you can protect yourself from a friend and
other mutual friends ganging up on you to get into your account.
Method 2: Use a Keylogger
Software Keylogger
A
software keylogger is a program that can record each stroke on the
keyboard that the user makes, most often without their knowledge. The
software has to be downloaded manually on the victim's computer. It will
automatically start capturing keystrokes as soon as the computer is
turned on and remain undetected in the background. The software can be
programmed to send you a summary of all the keystrokes via email.
CNET has Free Keylogger,
which as the title suggests, is free. If this isn't what you're looking
for, you can search for other free keyloggers or pay for one.
Hardware Keylogger
These
work the same way as the software keylogger, except that a USB drive
with the software needs to be connected to the victim's computer. The
USB drive will save a summary of the keystrokes, so it's as simple as
plugging it to your own computer and extracting the data. You can look
through Keelog for prices, but it's bit higher than buying the software since you have the buy the USB drive with the program already on it.
How to Protect Yourself
Use a
firewall. Keyloggers usually send information through the internet, so a
firewall will monitor your computer's online activity and sniff out
anything suspicious.
Install a password manager. Keyloggers
can't steal what you don't type. Password mangers automatically fill out
important forms without you having to type anything in.
Update
your software. Once a company knows of any exploits in their software,
they work on an update. Stay behind and you could be susceptible.
Change
passwords. If you still don't feel protected, you can change your
password bi-weekly. It may seem drastic, but it renders any information a
hacker stole useless.
Method 3: Phishing
This option is
much more difficult than the rest, but it is also the most common method
to hack someone's account. The most popular type of phishing involves creating a fake login page.
The page can be sent via email to your victim and will look exactly
like the Facebook login page. If the victim logs in, the information
will be sent to you instead of to Facebook. This process is difficult
because you will need to create a web hosting account and a fake login
page.
The easiest way to do this would be to follow our guide on how to clone a website
to make an exact copy of the facebook login page. Then you'll just need
to tweak the submit form to copy / store / email the login details a
victim enters. If you need help with the exact steps, there are detailed instructions available
by Alex Long here on Null Byte. Users are very careful now with logging
into Facebook through other links, though, and email phishing filters
are getting better every day, so that only adds to this already
difficult process. But, it's still possible, especially if you clone the entire Facebook website.
How to Protect Yourself
Don't click on links through email. If an email tells you to login to Facebook through a link, be wary. First check the URL (Here's a great guide on what to look out for). If you're still doubtful, go directly to the main website and login the way you usually do.
Phishing
isn't only done through email. It can be any link on any website / chat
room / text message / etc. Even ads that pop up can be malicious. Don't
click on any sketchy looking links that ask for your information.
Use anti-virus & web security software, like Norton or McAfee.
Method 4: Stealing Cookies
Cookies
allow a website to store information on a user's hard drive and later
retrieve it. These cookies contain important information used to track a
session that a hacker can sniff out and steal if they are on the same
Wi-Fi network as the victim. They don't actually get the login
passwords, but they can still access the victim's account by cloning the
cookies, tricking Facebook into thinking the hacker's browser is
already authenticated.
Image via wikimedia.orgFiresheep
is a Firefox add-on that sniffs web traffic on an open Wi-Fi
connection. It collects the cookies and stores them in a tab on the side
of the browser.
From there, the hacker can click on the saved
cookies and access the victim's account, as long as the victim is still
logged in. Once the victim logs out, it is impossible for the hacker to
access the account.
How to Protect Yourself
On Facebook, go to your Account Settings and check under Security.
Make sure Secure Browsing is enabled. Firesheep can't sniff out cookies
over encrypted connections like HTTPS, so try to steer away from HTTP.
Log off a website when you're done. Firesheep can't stay logged in to your account if you log off.
Use
only trustworthy Wi-Fi networks. A hacker can be sitting across from
you at Starbucks and looking through your email without you knowing it.
Use
a VPN. These protect against any sidejacking from the same WiFi
network, no matter what website you're on as all your network traffic
will be encrypted all the way to your VPN provider.
Protecting Yourself: Less Is More
Social
networking websites are great ways to stay connected with old friends
and meet new people. Creating an event, sending a birthday greeting and
telling your parents you love them are all a couple of clicks away.
Facebook
isn't something you need to steer away from, but you do need to be
aware of your surroundings and make smart decisions about what you put
up on your profile. The less information you give out on Facebook for
everyone to see, the more difficult you make it for hackers.
If your Facebook account ever gets hacked, check out our guide on getting your hacked Facebook account back for information on restoring your account.
Bonus: If you're interested in who's checking you out, there are some ways you can (kindof) track who's viewed your Facebook profile.
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