How to Log In and Access Facebook Securely

Having your Facebook account hacked by some nefarious hacker would be the last thing any one really needs to deal with.  About a year ago or so, a dating website got hacked into and the sites username passwords weren't encrypted in the database. These hackers then found the people who used the same email and password for both Facebook and the dating website and proceeded to do some really harmful posts on the peoples Facebook walls. The names of the people and their pictures went viral along with the hacked wall posts that made them look "sex" crazed.  Let's just say it was bad, and it actually looked pretty believable until finding out the real story.

At any rate, the more secure you can be on the internet the better, that's why it's a good idea to setup secure access in Facebook so that you can feel a little bit safer about your information not getting in the wrong hands.

As a side note, you also you want to be sure to never use the same password for your Email accounts, bank accounts, Facebook account (or any other account you wouldn't want to get hacked).  If you do use the same email and password at websites that aren't coded properly and they store your password unencrypted in the database, someone can easily take your information and use it to hack into your other more important accounts like Facebook. So keep that in mind as a warning to you, because it's much better to protect yourself from an unsuspecting hacker now, than after the fact.

Here's how to set up secure browsing (https) and login alerts in Facebook:

1. Login to your Facebook account (securely here: https://www.facebook.com/)
2. Click the Account tab -> then Account Settings.
3. In the Settings tab, in the Account Security section, click change.
4. Under "Secure Browsing (https)", check the box that says "Browse Facebook on a secure connection (https) whenever possible
5. If you want email alerts when a new computer or mobile device logs into your account, then check the box next to "Send me an email" 
6. Now click the Save button to save your changes.

Keep in mind that when logging into your Facebook account, you may still need to go to the "https" version of Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/) that is using secure socket layer (SSL).  By logging in on the secure version, it means that your email and password will be encrypted when getting sent over the network.  Whenever accessing Facebook from a public wifi network (like in an airport or coffee shop) you should always use the more secure (SSL) version of any website especially Facebook (or Gmail, etc).  Otherwise, you put yourself at greater risk of someone being able to hack your information over the network.