Tech Fix: Facebook Did Not Securely Store Passwords. Here’s What You Need to Know.

Ultimately, a company as large, rich and well staffed as Facebook should have known better.

How do I know whether someone had access my account?

There’s no easy way to know. Facebook is still investigating, and will begin alerting people who might have had their passwords stored in the plain text format.

What should I do?

Facebook is not requiring users to change their passwords, but you should do it anyway.

There are many methods for setting strong passwords — for example, do not use the same password across multiple sites, and do not use your Social Security number as a username or a password. You can set up security features such as two-step verification as well.

There are a few other steps to take. I recommend also setting up your Facebook account to receive alerts in the event that an unrecognized device logs in to the account. To do so, go to your Facebook app settings, tap Security and Login, and then tap Get alerts about unrecognized logins. From here, you can choose to receive the alerts via messages, email or notifications.

An audit of devices that are logged in to your account may also be in order, so that you know what laptops, phones and other gadgets are already accessing your account. On Facebook’s Security and Login page, under the tab labeled “Where You’re Logged In,” you can see a list of devices that are signed in to your account, as well as their locations.

If you see an unfamiliar gadget or a device signed in from an odd location, you can click the “Remove” button to boot the device out of your account.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/technology/personaltech/facebook-passwords.html?partner=rss&emc=rss