The estimated reading time for this post is 4 minutes
It’s so easy…
It’s so convenient…
Logging into another website using your Facebook account is definitely easy and convenient. You only have to remember your Facebook password, not the password for so many other accounts. One click and you’re done.
But as easy and convenient as it is to log into other sites using your Facebook account, it’s not a safe thing to do. In fact, it could be a very, very bad thing.
Last month Facebook announced that the accounts of 50 million users had been hacked. If you were one of those Facebook users who were hacked, then Facebook instructed you to reset your password when you visited your account.
But those users who were hacked were not only exposing all of the information on their Facebook accounts, (which could be a treasure trove of information), they also were exposing their information on every other site they had used Facebook to log into.
What Makes This Facebook Hack Particularly Scary
So far, the Facebook hackers have not been identified. We don’t know who they are, what they wanted, or what they will do with the information they gained from the hack. They may do nothing at all with it.
But we just don’t know.
The hackers could have not only accessed information from users’ Facebook accounts, they may also have access to other websites logged into using Facebook. The possibilities are staggering.
Protecting Yourself
Changing your Facebook password is only the first step in protecting yourself from this, and future hacks. You also need to prevent your Facebook account from being used to log into other websites.
By taking a few minutes to block your Facebook account from being used to log into other accounts, you are better protecting yourself from hackers.
According to Facebook, their “investigation has so far found no evidence that the attackers accessed any apps using Facebook Login.” But that doesn’t mean they won’t.
Why You Should Block Logins Using Your Facebook Account
You can, and should, block your Facebook account from being used to log into other websites, apps and games. In addition to becoming vulnerable to hackers. using a Facebook login may mean that you don’t have a way of logging out of that website.
If a website uses Facebook’s software to allow you to log into your account, resetting your password will then require you to log into your Facebook account on that site if your Facebook password has changed.
But not every website uses Facebook’s software for logging in using Facebook. Some sites use their own software that may keep you logged in with Facebook even though you’ve changed your Facebook password.
Read more about the dangers of using Facebook (and other third-party services) to log into other accounts in a paper by professors at The University of Illinois at Chicago: O Single Sign-Off, Where Art Thou? An Empirical Analysis of Single Sign-On Account Hijacking and Session Management on the Web, by Mohammad Ghasemisharif, Amruta Ramesh, Stephen Checkoway, Chris Kanich, and Jason Polakis.
How to Block Your Facebook Account from Being Used to Log Into Other Websites
To better protect yourself from hackers, turn off your ability to use Facebook to log into other websites. That way you won’t be able to log into other sites using your Facebook account, and you won’t be tempted to do it out of convenience.
To block your Facebook account from being used to log into other websites, go to: Facebook Settings => Apps and Websites.
Under the Active tab on this Settings page you’ll see websites where you’ve recently used Facebook to log into your account. These should be websites and apps you recognize.
Check all of them, then click Remove.
You should also remove expired websites, just to be sure. Click the Expired tab and follow the same procedure.
Then, scroll down to Preferences and turn off Apps, Websites and Games by clicking the Edit button.
You’ll see a pop-up notification with a warning about how this change to your Settings will restrict your use of Facebook. If these conditions are acceptable to you, then confirm your choice. (Note, if you play Facebook games, you may not want to turn off this setting.)
Removing these websites and changing your settings will help prevent other websites, and potential hackers, from using your Facebook account to log in to those sites.
Why This Isn’t a Perfect Solution, But Still Do It
This solution isn’t perfect. Hackers could go into your account and change these settings. And some websites may keep you logged in, even if you delete their permissions from your Facebook settings.
But by changing these settings you’re making it harder for hackers to use your Facebook account to log into other sites, which is a good thing. And you’ll be logged out of websites that use Facebook’s software to log you into their sites.
Much like locking your door won’t prevent every burglary from happening, you should still lock your door. And you should still block your Facebook account from being able to log into other accounts.
Your Thoughts
Were you one of the 50 million people whose Facebook account was hacked? Do you use Facebook to log into other websites? Have you changed your settings to block Facebook from being used to login to other websites?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Good information, Carolyn. I’ve used Facebook in the past to log in to other websites, so appreciate the tip.
Hi Cathy, You’re very welcome? Yes, logging into a website using Facebook is easy and convenient, until you want to log out. There really isn’t a good way to log out of all websites that use Facebook to log in users. That leaves us very vulnerable to hackers. Best not to use Facebook to log in, and to go further and block the ability to log into other sites by using your Facebook account.
Agree. I don’t think I use Facebook to log into anything, although the option is so frequently used. It’s always better to just use your email address and password and takes no time whatsoever, after you’ve set up your account. Everyone knows FB has privacy violations and hacking all the time, so it’s not a good idea to carry those over into your other accounts.
Hi Sabina, You’re right, using your email and a password is much safer than using Facebook to log into other websites. With every Facebook hack your accounts on other websites could be vulnerable if you use Facebook to log into them.
I was so confused after this last round of everyone saying ” I have been hacked”. A few friends, but only from groups told me of duplicate friend requests. I went into security and checked my log in areas and they were all mine. After reading this I am wondering if this is my problem.
Hi Cathy, Yes, I’ve gotten a few of those Facebook Messages too, saying that they got another friend request from me and trying to get me to forward their message to other friends.
This appears to be another hacking, or perhaps a part of the September hacking. Either way, Facebook definitely needs to tighten up its security. When we are depending on Facebook to keep our most personal information secure, we need to have confidence in their ability to keep hackers at bay. As of now, we don’t have that confidence.
Hi Carolyn,
Great piece of information. I literally followed your instruction in this post and I have removed apps and website I no longer use. I wasn’t aware of the danger of using Facebook login in other website. Now that I know it, I will make sure not to repeat the mistake.
Thank you for this information. Have a good day. 🙂
Hi Tarique, I’m so glad this article was helpful to you. Yes, we should definitely review which other websites and apps we’ve linked to our Facebook accounts. By doing this we can keep our account safer.
And by blocking Facebook from being used to sign into other accounts, we are making life more difficult for hackers. That’s a great thing.
Hi,
Great Information, Carolyn. Yes, I use Facebook to log into other websites. I think I should block my Facebook Account from being used to log into other website because hackers can access our information from the websites that we logged into using Facebook.
Thanks for sharing this post with us.
Have a great day ahead.
Praveen
Hi Praveen, Yes, until Facebook gives us a hack-proof way to log out of all websites you use Facebook to log into, you should block your Facebook account from being used to log into other sites. Using Facebook is easy and convenient, but definitely not a safe way to log in.
Hi Carolyn,
This is indeed a timely note. I used to utilize this option some times.
Thanks for the timely alert.
How about twitter, I use this option very often.
Keep sharing.
PS:
Comment box is not showing at the post thou wrote about the death of G+ please check and fix it.
~ Phil
Hi Philip, In general, signing in using your email is best because then you have more control with signing out of accounts. By using third party sign-in options, you may not be able to sign out of accounts effectively. Using a third-party account can also make it easier for hackers to use that account to sign into other websites.