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Locked out of Facebook or Instagram? It affects many people and has many unexpected consequences.
In fact, there aren’t many good options for recovering an account when a user is locked out. Facebook’s parent company is Meta Platforms Inc.,
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there is no customer service line that a user can speak to in person. The company, which says it is working hard to create more customer-service options, advises people to use their guidance tools, Facebook.com/hacked and Instagram.com/hacked, which ask the Ask and then recommend various actions to secure the account.
Meta tools can help you get your account back, but they don’t work for everyone—especially for people who don’t know their passwords and don’t have access to the email address they use. Facebook or Instagram to identify.
Sometimes this is because the host has changed this address. Sometimes it is because the user, for other reasons, no longer has access to the email address used to set up the account.
A password manager can help you keep the password side of things in check, but there are a few other ways you can keep your account safe from hackers.
Step 1: Do not reuse the password
Look at yourself in the mirror. Are you a password user? If you have, change your important passwords now to something hard to guess. Your supervisor may offer suggestions. If you don’t want to use that, don’t make your password too simple and try to keep it to 12 characters or longer.
Step 2: Turn on the two-factor authentication
Adding another security check, something beyond a password, makes your account more vulnerable to capture. Security keys can help—small USB sticks that you plug into your device to log in—and it’s a good idea to get a couple, just in case you lose one. But there are other ways to add a “second part” to your login. A mobile app like Google Authenticator is one option.
If you’re a Facebook user, here are instructions on how to turn on stronger authentication. Instagram tips are here.
Step 3: Is there a back door?
How long have you been on Facebook? How long can you set up with an email account you don’t use? It’s a good idea to check to see what email addresses Facebook or Instagram remember for you, because email addresses can be used to reset your password.
A second email address can save your bank, by giving you another way to get back to your account. But if the attacker intercepts one of these addresses, they can do the same.
Instructions for adding or removing Facebook email addresses are here. Instagrammers, go here.
Write to Robert McMillan at [email protected]
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