Facebook is armoring up: introduces Login Approvals

Facebook has just announced some excellent news regarding the security or this popular site. The social network’s security team has launched a new login approval feature^[1] which should definitely add that very-needed extra layer of protection to the users’ accounts. Having in mind that Facebook has around 1.79 billion monthly active users^[2], it is high time the webmasters stepped up their game in protecting the members of this large community. Similar security features have already been implemented by Google which allowed a much safer, 2-Step Verification^[3] when connecting to Google and Google+ accounts. Facebook follows Google’s example and brings Two Factor Authentication system^[4] to the table. Essentially, this system requires the user to verify each login to the account using a specific authentication code. There are a few ways this code can be obtained. The most basic way is to receive it via SMS. Nevertheless, some users may feel hesitant to reveal their personal phone numbers and bind them to their accounts. Hence, Facebook has prepared two alternative methods for a safe login: a) you may print out a selection of 10 codes and use them when needed or; b) use the Code Generator if you are connecting to your account through the Facebook app on a smartphone. Besides, we the users can also set up trusted devices and connect to their accounts without the unique key, but the Two-Factor protection will still be active for any other device.

Though the Facebook team has been working on site’s security in the past, for instance, enabled login notifications and allowed monitoring the devices connected to the accounts^[5], Login Approvals is by far the most sophisticated feature that has ever been implemented. It goes without saying — randomly generated security codes diminish the risk of account hackings, data breaches and other threats, including the nasty Facebook virus. In fact, the latter problem has been bothering users since 2014 and over this time has evolved into a number of different forms. The Facebook virus mainly spreads via hacked accounts, so you should keep in mind that if you fail to protect your personal account, this may affect all your friends and acquaintances, too. Thus, if you do not want your Facebook profile to be used as a tool for spreading malicious malware around, you should take every precaution possible to prevent that from happening. You can activate the Two Factor Authentication by going to the ”Account Security” settings and enabling “Login Approvals.”