[yetidog]

My wife's FB has been taken over by a hacker. Instructions other than a PW change are not very clear or available online. Questions: (1) How does one retrieve their account and then remove all postings etc, of the hacker? and (2) what benefit does a hacker derive from their activity?

[dsrtsage]

“What do you do if Facebook account is being used by a hacker?”

Post as many pictures of cats as quickly as you can

[AlaskaErik]

First, determine if they actually took over the existing account or if they created a new account using the same name and profile picture. The latter recently happened to my wife. She called Facebook and they shut down the new unauthorized account. If her Facebook friends are receiving new requests to friend her, make sure they don't, or the person doing this will be able to have much more access to her friend's info. If the existing account was in fact hacked, call Facebook and have them change the password to a new, more secure one that you have already come up with.

[upchuck]

This is reason number 79 why I’ll never have a FB account.

[JohnBrowdie]

is it being hacked, or spoofed?

[firebrand]

Something was wrong with my account a couple of years ago. I never was able to get it fixed until I emailed the “abuse” address. I think it was abuse@facebook.com but I’m not sure.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

“what benefit does a hacker derive from their activity?”

Send spam sites, adware, etc. to your wife’s friends.

[No One Special]

They apparently got the password. This can be a problem depending on if that password is used for other accounts. If it is, change the password on those other accounts pronto. It’s a pain to do, but you really should have different passwords for all your accounts. It’s obviously even more important if you have accounts that involve finances.

[S.O.S121.500]

www.mewe.com

[pepsionice]

Change the password ASAP. Run a virus check on your PC’s. Make the new password a bit more difficult.

[Lazamataz]

Facebook hacking.

Facking.

[AF_Blue]

Use this to generate a new password:

https://www.random.org/passwords/

Recommend at least 8-12 characters long. Include some non-alpha/numeric characters, as well.

[bgill]

Do NOT EVER use FB.

[Montana_Sam]

There are few systems that encourage good security with respect to the password profiles they demand and/or accept. A great password is a long(ish) phrase, such as: My high-school mascot in 1988 was a purple 3-toed parrot with a yellow hat! Or something like that. Easy for the user to remember, but pretty tough to break. Unfortunately, most of the clueless script-kiddies in charge of security today require some ridiculous combination of alphanumerics and special characters and between 8 and 12 chars long, and require changing it frequently. Stupid.

[HotHunt]

Why would you want a Facebook account anyway?

Just close the account and go back to real life.