Warning: Facebook’s one-time password no silver bullet
Facebook announced a new feature that claims to give users an additional method to keep their social networking account secure.
Facebook claims that its new one-time password feature will make it safer to use Facebook on computers in public places such as hotels, cafes or airports – as users can now request to receive a temporary password by SMS message which expires after 20 minutes.
Brett Myroff, CEO of regional Sophos distributor, Sophos South Africa, says that the one-time password feature could, however, result in further security concerns for users.
“A temporary password may stop keylogging spyware that gives cyber criminals a permanent backdoor into your account, but it doesn’t stop malware from spying on your activities online,” he says. “Furthermore, if someone else can gain access to your phone and send a text message, your Facebook account will be unlocked.”
Myroff adds that a simple lesson that everyone needs to learn is to never visit websites such as Facebook from computers that may not be running adequate anti-virus software or security patches.
“If you don’t trust the PC, don’t use it to access Facebook – even if you do have a temporary password. Instead, wait until you have access to a trusted PC, rather than risking sharing your personal information with unknown others. There’s a real danger that the one-time-password system will be viewed as a green light by Facebook users to access their accounts from unsafe PCs.”
Facebook security << How do you protect your password?
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