How to change your Facebook password to help keep your account secure
Internet security isn't something to be taken lightly, and social media sites are some of the most heavily targeted sites by hackers who want to steal your logins and potentially lock you out of your account.
One of the ways you can prevent this from happening — or at least drastically reduce your chances — is by regularly changing your password, particularly on Facebook.
Thankfully, creating a new password is easy on both the Facebook website when opened in your web browser as well as on the Facebook mobile app. It only takes a few minutes and will help your account remain secure, giving you peace of mind.
Here's how to do it.
How to change your Facebook password on a web browser
Find "Settings" in the dropdown menu at the top right of your Facebook homepage. Facebook; Jennifer Still/Business Insider
Find "Settings" in the app's menu. Facebook; Jennifer Still/Business Insider
It's worth noting that if you don't quite trust a simple password to protect your account, you do have the option to add two-factor authentication to your Facebook login.
What this means is that instead of simply entering your password to log in to Facebook, you'll also need to enter a special code texted to your confirmed phone number every time you attempt to access the site.
This can be turned on under the same "Security and login" section listed above, in the "Two-factor authentication" section (which comes just under the section where you change your password).
Facebook's two-factor authentication only kicks in when an active login expires or you log in from a different device. You will not need to enter a code if you are already logged into the site via the app or your computer.
Zuckerberg Eyeing Blockchain For Facebook Login And Data Sharing
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg makes the keynote speech at F8, Facebook's developer conference in San Jose, California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)ASSOCIATED PRESS
As one of the leading tech companies in the world, Facebook has been discussing and dabbling with the emerging blockchain technology for a few years now. CEO Mark Zuckerberg began this journey by saying, in early 2018, that he would be looking into blockchain technology and how it can decentralise the internet.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
From there, Facebook has not turned its back on the prosperous technology, looking for ways in which it can help boost their enterprise and social media market share. The company recently moved David Marcus, who was formerly the VP of Messenger, over to a new task team instructed to figure out the best ways to leverage blockchain within Facebook.
It appears that the team has now been looking into how Facebook can integrate blockchain technology into its login and data-sharing systems; an issue that needs sorting out as Facebook has come under massive scrutiny in the past for data scandals.
Zuckerberg, in an interview with Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain, said he is “potentially interested” in putting the Facebook login on the blockchain as well as implementing a blockchain system “that’s fully distributed” which could let individuals pick and choose which apps to allow access to and limit the amount of data shared.
First signs
While there have been stories doing the rounds, suggesting Facebook would be launching its own cryptocurrency, as reported by Cheddar, this statement from the CEO is the first tangible indication that Facebook could be implementing blockchain to help boost its enterprise.
It also indicates areas of concern that Facebook is looking to shore up with the emerging technology, and these concerning areas are well documented.
In the interview, Zuckerberg said that authentication was a use of blockchain that he is potentially interested in. However, he caveated it by saying: “I haven’t found a way for this to work.”
He added:
“You basically take your information, you store it on some decentralized system, and you have the choice of whether to log in in different places, and you’re not going through an intermediary.”
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
“There’s a lot of things that I think would be quite attractive about that. For developers, one of the things that is really troubling about working with our system, or Google’s system for that matter, or having to deliver services through Apple’s App Store is that you don’t want to have an intermediary between serving the people who are using your service and you.”
“Where someone can just say 'hey, we as a developer have to follow your policy and if we don’t, then you can cut off access to the people we are serving'. That’s kind of a difficult and troubling position to be in.”
Data protection is key.
Facebook’s data scandal, through Cambridge Analytica, was a massive black mark on the social media company that led to Zuckerberg having to go up against a congressional hearing. Thus, it is unsurprising that the company has data protection high on its agenda.
There are of course other ways in which data can be protected, with numerous third-party services developed expressly to secure one’s data. However, if Facebook is going to embark on a blockchain journey, this one will be quite revolutionary and would go a long way to boosting their enterprise by alleviating data sharing concerns.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT
“In a fully distributed system, there’d be nobody who could cut off their access. A fully distributed system empowers individuals on the one hand, but it really raises the stakes,” added Zuckerberg.
Those stakes he talks of is referring to third-party apps as it would also mean that in the event of a massive data breach like the Cambridge Analytica one, third-party apps that violated privacy could still run freely.
“It’s a lot easier to hold accountable large companies like Facebook or Google rather than a series of third-party apps. You’d also have more cases of abuse, and the recourse would be much harder.”
Mark Zuckerberg is mulling a blockchain-based Facebook log-in as a more secure option
Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is mulling the use of decentralized technology for his social media behemoth.
Speaking with Harvard Law Professor Jonathan Zittrain on Wednesday, Zuckerberg said blockchain technology could be implemented as an alternative way for users to access, store and manage their private data.
“Basically, you take your information, you store it on some decentralized system and you have the choice of whether to log in to different places and you’re not going through an intermediary,” he said in the Facebook Live interview.
‘Basically, you take your information, you store it on some decentralized system and you have the choice of whether to log in to different places and you’re not going through an intermediary’
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO
Read: Mark Zuckerberg defends Facebook’s business as ‘still evolving and improving’
Bypassing an intermediatory is the cornerstone of blockchain technology. Proponents argue it enables individuals to control who and what information is shared — something Zuckerberg seemed to agree with.
“That’s why I’m thinking about going back to decentralized or blockchain authentication,” he said, according to a transcript. “That’s why I’m kind of bouncing around how could you potentially make this work...”
Zuckerberg added that a distributed ledger system would “dramatically empower individuals.”
Facebook is reportedly ramping up its blockchain resources. On Feb. 4, Cheddar reported that Facebook had acquired the team behind Chainspace, a London-based blockchain startup.
Shares of Facebook
FB, -1.57%
were down 0.8% on Thursday, but have risen more than 20% year-to-date.
See: Full transcript of the Mark Zuckerberg interview
Providing critical information for the U.S. trading day. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Need to Know newsletter. Sign up here.
No comments:
Post a Comment