Facebook Security and Privacy Tips …from Facebook!

When we’re not cracking hacker networks and chasing cyber-villains through the tunnels of the Internet, we like to give advice about how you stay safe online (and sometimes we bake cakes). It requires a lot of research, so we really appreciate that Facebook has a page dedicated to security on the social network.

Head to http://www.facebook.com/about/security and you’ll be greeted by a friendly-looking American waiting to tell you all about the Facebook security team. It’s nice to hear from the guys over at Facebook HQ, but the “Security Tips” section on the right is more useful.

1. Know how to spot a scam

Facebook gives out the oldest advise in the book; if an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is. I find the sites example strange though: “Think twice before you click on a link for free airline tickets.” A few weeks ago we reminded you of the same thing – although we mentioned the Justin Bieber naked scam.

In fact, Facebook has a whole page dedicated to various scams on the service, located here: http://www.facebook.com/help/scams. Still no mention of Bieber, though.

2. Choose a one-of-a-kind password

“Is your Facebook password different than your email password? If not, please reset your password today.” Solid advice.

The above link takes you to a page that also lets you download a copy of your Facebook data – a must if you want to see what information the company has on you.

3. Confirm your mobile number

“If you forget your password, we’ll be able to text you a new one. To make sure we can reach you, confirm your mobile number.”

If you do confirm your number, make sure you decide whether you want it displayed on your profile. Our advice? Turn up your privacy settings to make sure no one else or only your close friends can see your number.

Feel free to dig deeper into Facebook’s security pages – they’re quite comprehensive and always informative. We’d recommend the Extra Security Features section, which talks about Active Sessions, App Passwords, Login Approvals, HTTPS and other more tech-heavy security solutions.

You can also keep up-to-date on all things Facebook security at http://www.facebook.com/security, although it might be a bit too much of a security-intense read for most people (sorry Facebook!).

And, of course, Facebook allows you to like any of these pages.