Facebook has provided some very effective tools for securing your account from the hackers and scammers of the world, but far too many users fail to take advantage of them.

The steps below will help ensure that your Facebook account never gets hacked or otherwise falls under the control of a third party:

1 – Before you do anything else, you need to enable Two-Factor Authentication on your account.

This is the single most effective tool you can use for completely locking down the security of your account.

Once enabled, Two-Factor Authentication will prevent someone else from logging into your account, even if they know your password.

2 – Next, change your Facebook password to one that’s very difficult to guess, yet easy to remember.

3 – Next, periodically check to make sure there aren’t any strange apps enabled on your account.

Facebook allows us to enable and run apps and games on our accounts, and some of them are quite handy and fun.

The problem is a hacker can use a malicious app or game to gain control over your account and use it in malicious ways without ever actually having to log into the account.

Check your installed apps and games and disable any that you never use or don’t remember enabling. You’ll likely find that several of them are enabled on your account at this very minute.

4 – And finally, hide your email address and phone number from the “About” section of your profile.

If a hacker has access to those pieces of information there are ways he/she can use them to reset your password and log into your account.

In general it’s a great idea to display as little personal information as possible on your profile, and your email address, phone number and birth date should be the very first things you hide.

And now, a bonus tip: Speaking of your email address and phone number, make sure you never lose access to the ones that are associated with your Facebook account.

If you ever get locked out of your account and have to reset your password to get back in you’ll need to have access to either the registered email account or registered phone number to do it.

And one more thing: Keep your login information to yourself. Don’t share it with anyone for any reason. And if you absolutely MUST share it with someone in an emergency situation you need to change it immediately when the task at hand is done.

I hope this helps. Good luck!