Social media has become a useful tool in many aspects. Businesses can reach out to their consumers more easily and vice versa. Individual users can
connect with distant friends and family. Platforms like Facebook can be used to share what is going on in our everyday lives. However, these useful tools can also be abused by those with malicious intent. Below are several steps you can take to ensure your Facebook is secure.

Privacy Settings

Privacy Settings are available under the under the Facebook Configuration Arrow.

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Who Can See Your Future Posts?

Adjust the visibility for all future posts so only your friends can see. This is the best way to limit access to items on your timeline to people you trust.

1. Click Edit
2. Click the drop down
3. Select Friends

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Do You Want Search Engines Outside of Facebook to Link to Your Profile?

Your profile can be located using most internet search engines and parts of your timeline may be visible even to those without a Facebook profile. By con-trolling this setting, you can reduce the possibility of your Facebook profile being located by someone other than a Facebook user.

Users must bear in mind that, for some considerable but indeterminate period of time after the search capability is turned off, residual records in a search engine will persist.

1. Click on Edit
2. Uncheck the box

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Limit The Audience for Old Posts on Your Timeline

You can also limit who has the ability to see past posts that you have made. Change these settings so only your friends can view old posts.

1. Click Limit Past Posts
2. Click Limit Old Posts

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Who Can Look Me Up?

In order to create a Facebook account, users must provide a valid email address or mobile number. It could be possible for any Facebook user to locate your profile using only your email address or telephone number. This option should be turned off for both.

1. For both options, select Edit
2. Click on the drop down menu
3. Select Friends

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Security and Login Settings

Security and Login Settings can be found under the Facebook Configuration Arrow.

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Get Alerts About Unrecognized Logins

This is a way to identify attempted compromises to your Facebook profile.

1. Scroll down to Setting up Extra Security
2. Select Get notifications
3. Select Email login alerts
4. Click Save Changes and email notices will be sent to your email on file with Facebook

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Use Two-Factor Authentication

This is the best way to prevent your Facebook account from being accessed by someone else. Every login attempt to your Facebook account will require your password and a code. Facebook will send the code to your phone after you enter your password. Once you have received the password, you will enter the code in Facebook to complete the login process.

1. Scroll down to Use two-factor authentication
2. Next to Two-factor authentication is off select Set Up
3. Next to Text Message (SMS) select Enable
4. Check your mobile phone for a verification text message. Follow the instructions in that message

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Where You’re Logged In

This feature can be used to end any active Facebook login session, including the one from which you are accessing your Facebook account. Where You’re Logged In will show the computers or devices from which you might not have properly logged out of Facebook and can tell you if unauthorized access to your account has occurred. A generally good practice is to log out of any internet activity that requires a login when not in use. Closing the browser or restarting the computer may be enough to fully log out. If you see a logged in browser and believe it to be an unauthorized connection you should:

1. Scroll down to Where You’re Logged In
2. Beside the device and location, click on the three dots
3. If the connection is unauthorized, report it by clicking on Not You?
4. To log out of the device, click on Log Out

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Additional Facebook Security Settings

How to Change Who Can See Your Post While Posting

You can change who can see a post while you are
creating it.

1. Click on the drop down menu
2. Select Friends

Now only your friends will be able to see the post.

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Who Do You Want to View Your Photo Albums?

You can control who sees which of your albums by going to Photos on your profile.

1. Go to Photos
2. Select Albums
3. Click on the drop down of the specific album you would like to adjust the privacy settings on
   • NOTE: Albums with the setting symbol allow you to change the privacy settings of each individual photo
4. This area allows you to:
   • Allow only your Friends to see the album
   • Edit the settings so certain individuals cannot see the album
   • Change the privacy to where only you can view the photo

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Additional Facebook Security Settings

How to Hide Contact and Basic Information

Under the About tab on your profile, Facebook stores mobile phones numbers and emails associated with your account. By editing these settings so only Friends can see them, you are limiting yourself from being contacted by individuals you do not know.

You can hide other personal information such as your address, birthday, where you have worked, and gone to school. While such information may seem harmless to have open to the public, the more personal information shared to individuals not on your friends list, the more susceptible your account is to being compromised.

To change the settings for your personal information:

1. To the right of each piece of information, click Edit
2. In the pop-up, select the drop down arrow on the right
3. Here, you can determine which information you want to be seen by the Public, your Friends, or even adjust the settings so the information can only bee seen by yourself

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Facebook Groups: Open, Closed, and Secret

There are three different kinds of Facebook Groups. Open Groups are public and allow anyone to join the group and see what is posted; these groups are also searchable by search engines. Closed Groups restrict visibility of postings to members only and require admins to approve membership to the group. Secret Groups are inaccessible to the public and cannot be searched. Individuals must be added to the group by a current member. Facebook’s table below shows the various settings associated with the three kinds of groups.

It’s important to be aware of who can see what you post within different groups, as well as which groups others can see you are in.

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https://www.facebook.com/help/220336891328465?helpref=about_content