Facebook Adds Two-Factor Authentication

Social networking giant Facebook announced on Tuesday that it was introducing a two-factor security feature that will make user accounts harder to hijack.

Social networking giant Facebook announced on Tuesday that it was introducing a two-factor security feature that will make user accounts harder to hijack.

The announcement was part of a group of security enhancements by Facebook that includes improved secure HTTP features and social reporting tools that make it easier to flag questionable content online.

The security improvements stem, in part, from the company’s involvement with the Obama Administration on an anti-bullying crusade.

Following the lead of Google, Facebook is adding a multi factor authentication feature, similar to Google’s Authenticator feature for Gmail. Disabled by default, the feature will ask users to enter a code in addition to their Facebook user name and password any time they try to access their Facebook account from a new device.

On the secure browsing front, Facebook has tweaked its HTTPS feature so that the site will automatically shift back to secure HTTP if a Facebook application requires HTTPS to be disabled. 

For parents and children, Faceook introduced a Family Safety Center that acts as a central page for information on securing accounts, online privacy, de-friending and blocking other Facebook members and reporting abusive content.

Suggested articles