Facebook publishes new security settings guide

Now that it’s made its privacy settings drop-dead simple, Facebook’s turned to the cobwebby murk of its security tools to do some spring cleaning.

On Friday, it uncorked 11 new visual and interactive guides on the tools it offers for users to keep their information secure, the steps the company itself takes to keep users’ info secure, and the ways users can recognize and fend off attempts to get at their data.

Back in November, Facebook had updated its privacy policy with an animated dashboard on a page called Privacy Basics.

Facebook’s aim then was to shed light on whatever was confusing about privacy, with crystal-clear explanations in big fonts, bright colors and nice, short words that walked users through changing settings in three categories: what others see about them, how others interact with them, and what they themselves see.

Now, as Facebook Product Manager Melissa Luu-Van said in a post, online threats are increasing.

The company’s trying to help out users by bringing the same level of clarity it brought to privacy tools to security tools:

Online threats are a growing concern for people, and our hope is that this helps people better understand how to stay safe and secure on Facebook.

To do that, it’s added a new security collection called How to Keep Your Account Secure to the Privacy Basics page.

The topics cover setting a strong password, spotting attempts to steal passwords and other info, details on how Facebook handles government requests for information, and advice on what to do if your account gets hijacked.

The new security explanations are just as crystal-clear as the new privacy instructions – a great way to walk beginners, step by step, through things like changing passwords if they think theirs has been stolen.

For example, the new “Passwords” walk-through points out that it’s important to have a strong, memorable, unique password.

But it doesn’t actually walk you through how to pick a strong password. It does, however, end each tip by advising users where to go to learn more.

Naked Security, of course, has plenty of in-depth advice on how to stay safe on Facebook.

So in the spirit of chipping in to keep us all safe, here are a few articles that we thought would add to the new Facebook clarifications:

• How to pick a proper password: A short, sweet video shows you how to pick a good, strong password, as Facebook so rightly recommends.
• Two-factor authentication – Understanding the options: When Facebook talks about Login Approvals, it’s talking about a form of 2FA. Here’s a drill-down into what that is and why it’s important.
• Gutting the phish: As Facebook points out in its new phishing advice slideshow, scammers often rig up fake websites that look like Facebook and that ask you to log in, in an attempt to steal your login info. Here’s one of our many phishing dissections, and you can even walk through a phish with one of our security experts to see if you can tell if it’s real or not. (BTW, if you do get your login phished away, 2FA can stop the thief from actually breaking in and hijacking your account. See the article in the bullet above!)

Of course, the same security tools and tips for using Facebook are useful all over the Internet.

If you want to keep up with the latest on Facebook hoaxes, phishes, security tools and lots more, make sure to like Naked Security on – where else? – our Facebook page.