Hacking facebook accounts 2023
This article is about Hacking facebook accounts.
Introduction to Hacking facebook accounts:
Facebook is used by almost a sixth of the world’s population. This large number of Facebook users is vulnerable to information security attacks. According to a statement released by Facebook, the social network website received 600,000 fraudulent login attempts per day in 2011. This means that every 140 milliseconds someone tries to hack a Facebook account. A blink of an eye usually lasts 300-400 milliseconds.
Hacking Facebook accounts does not require sophisticated skills. To illustrate, a simple Google search reveals numerous tutorials on how to gain unauthorized access to a Facebook account. In addition, there are books that provide insight into the topic. For example, the book “How Hackers Hack Facebook and Any Computer?” provides “tricks and methods used by hackers around the world to hack any Facebook account and any computer.”
Hacked Facebook profiles combined with user data gleaned from other sources (eg Twitter, LinkedIn and check-ins) allow criminals to build a complete personal, financial and behavioral picture of their victims, which can then be used to commit data crimes. theft and other cyber crimes.
Related Article:Everything you need to know about Ethical Hacking as a Career by Blackhat Pakistan 2023
In this article, we cover the most popular methods of hacking Facebook accounts, provide recommendations on how to protect your Facebook account, and discuss Facebook’s “Bug Bounty Program” bug reporting initiative.
Most Popular Methods to Hack Facebook Accounts
In this section, we discuss three commonly used methods for hacking Facebook accounts, namely hacking software, phishing, and botnet attacks. Each of these methods is explored in more detail below.
Hacking software
A Google search for “Facebook hacking” comes up with millions of links to instantly download hacking software. However, most of the software applications that are supposed to enable hacking Facebook accounts contain viruses, trojans, ransomware, spyware, adware and other malicious programs. Facebook hacking software can be divided into two categories namely (A) online applications and (B) downloadable applications.
Online application
Online applications usually require their user to enter a link to the target account (eg https://www.facebook.com/john.doe) in an online form. Subsequently, such applications perform simple dictionary attacks, that is, they try a large number of password combinations to see if any of them are correct. Dictionary attacks can be successful with poorly chosen passwords (eg qwerty, 123456 and abc123). However, for more complex passwords, dictionary attacks are unlikely to succeed. However, many websites claim otherwise. For example, www.facebookhacks.net states this: “It is a mathematical certainty that bruteforce attempts will eventually get the correct one because there are only a set number of different letters and numbers that a password could be. It’s just a matter of time, which is why more complex passes take longer.”
Application to download
In most cases, downloadable apps use the “remember me” feature, which allows a Facebook user to access Facebook without re-entering their Facebook credentials every time they want to log in to the social network. Downloadable apps are usually able to decrypt encrypted Facebook passwords. It should be noted that some downloadable Facebook password decryptors are legitimate software whose official purpose is to enable Facebook users to recover forgotten Facebook passwords. For example, the Moscow company Elcomsoft developed a software application called Facebook Password Extractor (FPE). FPE can extract and decrypt Facebook passwords that are stored using the “Remember Me” feature. Although the terms of use document governing FPE states that the application is designed for legal purposes, the application can be misused by fraudsters for malicious purposes.
Phishing
Facebook is the target of many phishing scams. The most popular techniques include: (A) creating fake but legitimate-looking Facebook pages that lure victims into submitting their login information to criminals; (B) sending a false warning message stating that the recipient of the message has violated Facebook’s policies; and (C) creating fake “Like” and “Share” buttons.
Fake Facebook pages
By sending links to fake Facebook pages, scammers aim to mislead their victims into believing that if they enter their Facebook credentials, they will gain access to Facebook profiles. Victims actually send their credentials to scammers who can sell them or use them to commit crimes.
Fake warning messages
Scammers can send fake warning messages to their victims. The messages, allegedly sent by Facebook, Inc., allege that the potential victims’ accounts violated various Facebook legal documents (such as the terms of service and privacy policy). In addition, the reports say that recipients can avoid having their accounts deleted if they enter their Facebook credentials into an online form. Once recipients enter their credentials, they will be sent to the scam’s organizers and used for malicious purposes.
Fake “Like” and “Share” buttons.
Another popular phishing scheme is to embed fake Facebook “Like” and “Share” buttons on websites. When a user clicks on one of these buttons, they will be redirected to a fake Facebook login page where they will be asked to provide valid login details.
Botnet attacks
Facebook botnets are groups of compromised Facebook accounts controlled by attackers. Such botnets are used by hackers to send malicious links to large numbers of Facebook users. Individuals controlling botnets are called bot herders. One can become a bot shepherd by purchasing or leasing a botnet. It’s worth noting that Facebook botnets are considered a rare commodity on the black market. A small botnet consisting of about 50 compromised computers costs around $250-$500. Botnets typically perform one of the following five types of attacks: (A) hijacking hashtags; (B) Spray and pray; (C) Retweet storm; and (D) Click/Like Farming. Their description follows.
Hijacking hashtags
A hashtag can be defined as a label or metadata tag that allows social media users to easily find messages related to a particular topic. The hashtag looks like this: #InfoSecInstitute. Botnets can distribute massive amounts of spam by appropriating organization-specific hashtags. Trend-jacking is a popular form of hashtag hijacking that is done by spamming using hashtags related to current top trends.
Spray and pray
A “Spray and Pray” attack is done by posting as many links as possible. Although messages are sent automatically, their content is different. This prevents the activation of the spam control mechanisms that Facebook uses.
Retweet storm
The retweet storm is an attack in which one Facebook account (the so-called “martyr account”) posts a malicious message and a large number of other Facebook accounts share the posted messages. If the account that posted the malicious message is banned by Facebook, other accounts may be able to spread the message further.
Click/Like Farming
Botnets can also be used to “like” and “share” legitimate content. In such cases, legitimate content owners are unaware that their content is being advertised using compromised computers.
Recommendations on how to protect your Facebook account
Below is a list of security practices that will greatly reduce the chance of successful attacks on your Facebook account.
(A) Do not use the “remember me” feature that allows Facebook to store your login information on your computer.
(B) Carefully review all emails to be sent by Facebook. Ignore such emails immediately unless: (i) they are from email addresses that end in “facebook.com” and “fb.com” or (ii) they contain links to email addresses that do not end in ” facebook.com” ” and “fb.com”. Please note that scammers may send you malicious messages from emails ending in “facebook.com”. This can be achieved using a technique called “email spoofing”. Therefore, the safest way to identify a malicious email purported to be sent by Facebook is to send a copy of the message to the Facebook Help Center. The following excerpt from Facebook’s help center website may be helpful in this regard: “If you believe you have received a phishing email, please forward it to [email protected]. While we cannot respond to every report we receive, we will use the information you provide to investigate the issue and take action where possible.”
(C) Use a strong password. If you use a weak password, your Facebook account can be hacked using a simple dictionary attack.
(D) Log out of your Facebook account before leaving your computer. This way you will destroy the cookies that can be used to hack your account.
(E) Install an up-to-date antivirus program. This will reduce the chance of becoming part of a botnet.
Facebook bug bounty program
To identify information security vulnerabilities, Facebook launched an initiative called the “Facebook Bug Bounty Program.” The initiative allows any internet user to submit information about security vulnerabilities related to Facebook. Facebook may investigate reported vulnerabilities and provide monetary rewards to those who report them. In 2015, Facebook paid out approximately $1 million to white hat hackers who reported 526 bugs. For example, Facebook paid $15,000 to a security researcher named Anand Prakash. He identified an important security flaw that can be exploited by hackers. More specifically, Mr. Prakash found that Facebook does not limit the number of wrong phone PIN guesses that can be used as a temporary password.
Conclusion
Efforts to hack Facebook accounts will continue as long as there are motivating factors behind such efforts. Such motivational factors include, but are not limited to (i) financial reward (eg, sale of stolen data); (ii) clarifying personal matters (eg, catching a cheating spouse); and (iii) harassing the target account user. To protect your Facebook account to the maximum extent possible, you must use a security strategy consisting of three components, namely: (i) increasing your information security awareness; (ii) taking information security precautions and (iii) reporting security vulnerabilities to Facebook through their “Bug Bounty Program”
