En Garde in the bunker…
From multiple sources, and not looking good: A security feature from Facebook is now the target of complaints from some users who say they were locked out on Friday and unable to access their accounts. ‘Facebook Protect’ is a security program used by Facebook’s parent company Meta. The program is designed for people who Facebook perceives to be more at risk of being targeted by hackers, such as human rights defenders, journalists and government officials, among others.
In an ironic twist, however, an email from Facebook earlier this year, which warned select users that their accounts required Facebook Protect, was sent from an email address that raised red flags for some as possible spam: security@facebookmail.com. “This is a reminder to turn on Facebook Protect by tomorrow, 17 March 2022,” the email read. “After that, you will be locked out of your account until you enable it.”
The email was indeed from Facebook, however, and on Friday several users who neglected – or declined – to enable Facebook Protect complained that they were locked out with no way to regain access. “Anyone else having major issues with Facebook protect?” wrote one journalist. “Completely locked out of my account. Then running into glitches and tech issues when trying to fix the problem.”
One DC-area photographer complained that “Facebook Protect has locked me out of everything. I’ve been doing what they ask for several days but when I request a code to be sent to my cellphone it doesn’t, and the two factor [authentication] which doesn’t work either,” he added. “Help.”
Paul Wagenseil, Tom’s Guide: ‘Facebook Protection notification is Real – Here’s what you Need to Know’ …
‘Facebook Protect’ shambolic mess? People lie; people die; people sigh…
Many Facebook users are getting messages and alerts that they need to upgrade their accounts to something called “Facebook Protect” — or risk being locked out of Facebook altogether.
“Your account requires advanced security from Facebook Protect” reads the subject line of an email message spotted by Android Police. The message goes on to say that Facebook Protect must be turned on by March 17 or “you will be locked out of your account until you enable it.”
This may sound like a phishing scam, but it isn’t. Facebook really is forcing some users to upgrade the security on their accounts, chiefly by activating two-factor authentication (2FA). Facebook Protect also adds “back-end threat detection so our teams can quickly respond to compromise attempts,” as Facebook/Meta head of security Nathaniel Gleicher said in a series of tweets Tuesday (March 1).
Facebook Protect, launched in 2018, was originally meant to be used by political “candidates, their campaigns and elected officials,” as a Facebook paper explaining the feature states. Now it’s being expanded to political activists and journalists, as a Meta blog post authored by Gleicher back in December said. At that time, 1.5 million accounts had already enrolled in Facebook Protect. [-]
[+] … How to enable Facebook Protect
- Click Account at the top right of the Facebook web page
- Click Settings & Privacy in the drop-down menu
- Click Settings in the next page of the drop-down menu
- Click Security and Login in the left-hand navigation bar
- Scroll down to Facebook Protect and click Get Started
- Click Next on the welcome screen
- Click Next on the Facebook Protect benefits screen
Like Rudd, a fair number of other U.S. TV news reporters are getting the new wave of notifications, to judge by several local-TV pieces from the past few days.
“Your account has the potential to reach a lot more people than an average Facebook user,” reads a sample notification posted by Android Police. It adds, “Facebook Protect isn’t available for everyone … We require stronger security for your account because it has the potential to reach a large audience.”
That smacked some Twitter users as unfairly exclusionary.
Full link below …
‘Facebook Protect’ shambolic mess. The BIG UGLY just got uglier…
A Philippines-based journalist, who tweeted that he had already enabled Facebook Protect, two-factor authentication and backup codes, said his account was compromised and someone began posting libelous comments under his verified name. Nexstar reached out to Facebook about reports of issues with Facebook Protect but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Back in December 2021, Facebook announced that it would be expanding Protect, with the goal of expanding the program to more than 50 countries by the end of the year. What could possibly go wrong, apparently got up and went. More debacles like this definitely doesn’t help the cause.
And on that note, time for today’s MAGA Pill – Warrior-president Donald John Trump continuing to pave the way ahead for greatness – MAGA! KAG!
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- Paul Wagenseil, Tom’s Guide: Facebook Protection notification is Real – Here’s what you Need to Know
