Everything You Need To Know About The Latest Facebook Data Leak

By 41 commentsCategory: Alert, FixMeStick BlogTags:

This week, over 540 million Facebook users had their data compromised via third-party apps. This is another case in a series of Facebook data breaches over the past year. Is your account affected? Continue reading below to find out.

What are third-party apps?

Third-party apps are applications not made by Facebook, but can connect to your Facebook account and get your private information. Popular Facebook games such as Candy Crush and Farmville are all considered third-party apps.

This week’s data breach involves two third-party apps – a publisher called Cultura Colectiva and an app called At The Pool. Both of these apps stored a total of 540 million Facebook user data points on unsecured servers. These data points contained comments, likes, account names, and other information collected from Facebook accounts.

Since the data were stored on unsecured servers, anyone with an internet connection could access this information. This means scammers could take this information to commit fraud and identity theft. The worst part is that some of these data points contained critical information such as the app passwords of 22,000 accounts!

How can you protect yourself?

After this data breach was found, Cultura Colectiva managed to secure its users’ data after 3 months. At The Pool’s data was also secured in under 3 months, but this is after the data had been left in an unsecured state for 5 years.

When it comes to protecting your data from third-party Facebook apps, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself.

1. Use Different Passwords Everywhere

The good news is that no Facebook account passwords were leaked. However, if you use the same password for every one of your online accounts, like for third-party Facebook apps, make sure to change all these passwords to different ones. Make sure they’re strong by using letter, numbers and symbols.

2. Limit Your Use of Third-Party Apps

Limiting the number of third-party apps you use is another way you can protect your personal information. When you allow third-party apps to connect to your Facebook account, you are giving them access to all the information you have stored in your Facebook account. Here is some information about your Facebook App Settings.

Information such as your friends, hobbies, where you went to school, and even your date of birth can all be leaked. But if playing Facebook games and using third-party apps are important to you, consider limiting the information you put in your Facebook account.

3. Run Routine FixMeStick Scans

You can never be too careful. With this leaked data people will create phishing attacks to infect your computer or steal more information. We recommend using FixMeStick once per month to deep clean your computer. This will remove viruses, such as spyware, that were downloaded onto your computer. You can click here to try FixMeStick for $9.95.

Have any questions? Let us know in the comments below!


41 comments

  1. GARRETT J MOSS -

    PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT PURCHASED FIX ME STICK THROUGH MY PAY PAL ACCOUNT,
    HOWEVER I NEVER RECEIVED IT. TRANSACTION DATE WAS FEB 15TH, 2019 FROM FIX ME STICK TECHNOLOGIES. I NOTICED ON MY ORDER THAT THE SHIP TO FILED WAS LEFT BLANK. IF THIS ORDER WAS THROUGH YOU AND NOT A FACEBOOK SCAM CAN YOU PLEASE FORWARD STICK.
    THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR CHECKING INTO THIS MATTER.

    REGARDS

    GARRETT J MOSS

    • Linda -

      Hi Garrett, I checked your account and it looks like you indeed placed an order with us. However, what you ordered was a renewal to use your existing FixMeStick. This means you will not get a new FixMeStick shipped to you. You would simply get another year to use this FixMeStick, as well as any software updates during this year. We’ve reached out to you via your email address to clarify this issue. You can also contact us at support@fixmestick.com if you have any other questions about this order.

  2. Jim -

    I love your FixMeStick it’s easy to use plus gives me freedom from worry when I feel insecure I give it a scan when I hear of things I give it a scan I feel really protected with it

  3. RICHARD MISCINSKI -

    I have your Fixmestick for a few years now. I have noticed that every time I run a scan it tells me there where no problems? I find this hard to believe. I’am a heavy user and would think something would show up. Can this be true or is it not working right?
    Thanks Richard Miscinski

    • Linda -

      Hi Richard, That’s a great question! If you suspect your computer still has a virus after running a FixMeStick scan, please contact our technical support at support@fixmestick.com and we can look into setting up a remote connection to clear any leftover viruses for you for free.

  4. sharon guy -

    how do I cancel my account, and can I still go on messenger if I do?

    • Linda -

      Hi Sharon, unfortunately, Facebook will not allow you to use messenger without an account. However, you can definitely try our tips in the blog to secure your Facebook account.

  5. Eugene Blake -

    I have been having issues with my computer, slow speeds, only downloads partial pages or not connecting to web pages at all. Per my server, AT&T there is no problem with lines or modem. They suspect I may have a malicious malware on my computer. My question is, I have a Fix Me Stick, I purchase several years ago, one price for lifetime. Why is this Fix Me Stick not cleaning my computer if I do have a malware. Computer is 6 months old.

    • Linda -

      Hi Eugene, FixMeStick is a virus-removal device only. So if the issue on your computer is related to viruses, FixMeStick can definitely fix that for you. If you have any other questions or would like to receive technical support about this, please send us an email at support@fixmestick.com.

  6. Toni Smith -

    We have FixMeStick from a few years ago. It still seems to work very well.

  8. Janet Simpson -

    Two or three years ago I set up an account with Facebook but then I decided never to use it. I’ve never used it. But – I can’t remember what password etc. I used to set it up. Will this be a problem for me as far as data breaches? Sorry if I’m stupid – I’m old.

  10. Barbara Young -

    I still can’t get fixmestick to work. I tried rebooting and clicking on the icon in the ‘computer’ section and it says it is OK to run then stops and tells me there’s something wrong.

    • Linda -

      Hi Barbara, Sorry to see that. We’ve reached out to you via your email address. Please reply to us or send us another email at support@fixmestick.com so we can help you troubleshoot this issue.

  12. Cheryl Dorner -

    I have the stick .. love it but tried for 6 months to get it to update .. will not do it .. do I need to buy another one ?

    • Linda -

      Hi Cheryl, To answer your questions, you do not need to buy another FixMeStick as we can definitely troubleshoot this issue for you. We’ve sent you an email to resolve this. Please reply to the email or send us another one at support@fixmestick.com to continue troubleshooting.

  13. Janice Kurkiewicz -

    I already have a fix me stick and it has not worked on my computer as it still is slow and does the same as before I used the stick, (flash multiple times when I go online, and I still have to use the F1 button to get into my computer). These are the things that caused me to buy your stick, and, as usual, it didn’t work.

    • Linda -

      Hi Janice, I’m sorry to see that. Please note the FixMeStick is a virus-removal device only. It will not help with any other computer issues, especially if they are hardware-related. If you have any other questions about this, please contact us at support@fixmestick.com.

    • Linda -

      Unfortunately, the current version of the FixMeStick was not designed to support tablet or smart phone use. Presently, the FixMeStick is optimized for use on both PC and Mac computers, depending on which version of the FixMeStick the customer has (PC vs Mac version).

      As tablets and smartphones become more advanced and receive widespread adoption, we know that there will be an increasing demand for a compatible version of the FixMeStick. Creating this version is definitely something we have on our to-do list, but for the immediate future, we want to focus on our core products.

    • Linda -

      Hi there, the best way to get off of Facebook is to delete your account.

  16. Anonymous -

    i purchased a chromebook last summer from home shopplng club. The selling point that convinced me to get it was that the host/quest both said the laptop had built in virus protection. Is it still necessary for me to run fix me stick.

    • Linda -

      Unfortunately, the current version of the FixMeStick was not designed to support Chromebooks.

  17. jeffrey severns -

    i purchased a chromebook last summer from home shopplng club. The selling point that convinced me to get it was that the host/quest both said the laptop had built in virus protection. Is it still necessary for me to run fix me stick.

    • Linda -

      Unfortunately, the current version of the FixMeStick was not designed to support Chromebooks.

  18. Ruth D Cheruka -

    My FixMe Stick came apart. I am afraid to try and glue it, but trying to remove the stick the case comes off and leaves the insides which I then have to remove. The FixMe Stick works fine, it’s just a pain to remove.
    Thank you!

    • Linda -

      Hi Ruth, I’m sorry to see that. If this case ever prevents you from using your FixMeStick in the future, please contact us at support@fixmestick.com and we can arrange something for you.

  19. Steven Mason -

    When will FMS list actual viruses/files found & isolated so we can read up on them and make sure the files they modify have NOT been touched. This seems like a key piece of knowledge for doing a thorough cleaning of a computer once a virus has been identified. It really doesn’t do a justice to the machine if the virus is removed, but it already caused damage to files hacked.

  20. Char Santana -

    Was my FB acct likely compromised even if I NEVER play games?

  21. Jack penrod -

    Do you have a fix me.stick for IOS devices such as IPad?j

    • Linda -

      Unfortunately, the current version of the FixMeStick was not designed to support tablet or smartphone use, such as iPads and iPhones. Presently, the FixMeStick is optimized for use on both PC and Mac computers, depending on which version of the FixMeStick the customer has (PC vs Mac version).

  22. Anonymous -

    Susan Knight- I have a fix me stick and i thank you for all the info i have read on the above post. How can i tell if my fix me stick is for PC or MAC .

    • Linda -

      Hi Susan, to better assist you, we’ve sent you an email regarding this issue. If you have any other questions, you can contact us support@fixmestick.com or reply to our email.

  23. Diane Decker -

    I have been using fix me stick for 2 years. Suddenly it is telling me there is no internet connection for updates and to plug into my internet manually?? Not sure why this is since my wifi is working well

      • Connie Hensel -

        I have the same issue as Linda above. send to fix inst

        Thank you. Connie

Comments are closed.