#1) Disable 'Facebook Login' (successor to the insane Facebook Beacon)

1. Open the Facebook app on your mobile device
2. Tap the Menu icon at the bottom of the screen
3. Goto Settings & Privacy > Settings
4. Scroll to the Permissions section and tap "Apps and Websites"
5. For each connected app or website, tap on it and select "Remove"
6. Confirm the removal when prompted
7. For apps and websites that offer both Facebook login and your standard email+password login, switch to using email + password instead.
8. Check out this helpful video from Max Dalton

Now your Facebook cannot log into external apps and websites, and previous permission you've granted for access to your data has been revoked, greatly improving your privacy and security. If you find it inconvenient to use a username + password to login, simply install and use a password manager (I highly recommend Bitwarden ), and you will never have to remember a username + password ever again!

#2) Enable 2FA (Two Factor Authentication) On All Social Media Accounts

1. It prevents account takeovers even if your password is stolen or guessed.
2. It protects against phishing attacks and social engineering tactics.
3. Most major social platforms now offer 2FA options.
4. It's relatively simple to set up and use (I prefer Aegis Authenticator ).

How To Do It:

1. Go to the security settings of each social media or bank account.
2. Look for the two-factor authentication option and enable it. It's sometimes called '2FA' or 'Multi-Factor Authentication'.
3. Choose your preferred 2FA method (e.g. SMS, authenticator app [I prefer the app method], or security key).
4. Follow the prompts to complete the setup.

While no security measure is foolproof, enabling 2FA across all your social media accounts (and also your bank accounts, and any other online account that holds valuable personal information) provides a substantial boost to your online security and privacy with minimal effort on your part. It's a simple yet highly effective step that can dramatically reduce your risk of falling victim to various cyber threats. Do it today!

And as I mentioned, I prefer using the authenticator app method. To use this method you need to install an authenticator app on your smart phone. I use Aegis Authenticator. I chose it over the offerings from Google, Microsoft, etc, because it's open source and it has an automatic encrypted backup system, which is very VERY important. You see, with 2FA technology, if you physically lose your smart phone and don't have backups of your 2FA accounts, you will lose access to all of your online accounts that are protected with 2FA. This would obviously be a total disaster situation! However, if you have a backup of your 2FA accounts you can simply reinstall the Ageis app on your new phone, restore your backups, and you'll be back in business in seconds. Clearly, 2FA backups are critically important to have. Google recently added the ability to back up (took them long enough), but all of your information is stored in their cloud and it is not end-to-end encrypted, which means the employees at Google have full access to your super-secret security info. Not cool. I say stick with Ageis Authenticator . It's free and open source.

Backup your Ageis 2FA accounts to your free Sync.com account, which utilizes zero-knowledge, end-to-end encryption for all of your data, and it's 100% Canadian which means your data never leaves the country and is never subjected to the privacy laws of other nations. Sync.com's encryption and privacy protections are among the strongest available from major cloud storage services (I think it's the strongest, actually). Sync.com is the best cloud storage option, in my opinion.

#3) Simply don't post detailed personal information to social media

The bad guys (i.e. cybercriminals) seeking to impersonate you to gain access to your financial information for personal enrichment often engage in reconnaissance on social media accounts to extract valuable details such as birthdates, addresses, and family names. You would be surprised how the bad guys can use this information against you. It is crucial to refrain from posting this type of sensitive information on platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and others.

 

I hope these tips were easy to understand and follow! If you have any questions don't hesitate to reach out.

Cheers,
Darren

P.S. I do not receive any compensation for giving recommendations on computer hardware or software. This information is completely impartial. Any suggestions I provide are based purely on my personal beliefs and are backed by more than 45 years of experience.