Cool Facebook Status, Chat Tricks and Tips

Most of us use Facebook to interact with some of our long separated friends but that does not mean we cannot have fun on Facebook. Here is a collection of tricks, tips and Easter eggs you can use to enjoy your experience on Facebook.

Facebook Easter Eggs: Pirate Language ,Turn Facebook Upside Down

Facebook is not as famous for its Easter eggs as Microsoft, but that does not mean that Facebook's Easter eggs are not entertaining. The one which I especially find interesting is the Pirate Language trick. To enable Pirate Language in Facebook, login to Facebook, click on the down arrow at the right of the top navigation bar, click on Account Settings, click on Edit at the right of the Language option, and in the Primary Language dropdown menu, select English(Pirate) located somewhere near the bottom and be the captain of your Pirate Ship.

Blabber t' yer mates

Similarly, you can also turn Facebook upside down by selecting English(Upside Down) from the Languages dropdown. This will flip the entire Facebook interface but your status updates would still be "normal".

See. Mark Zuckerberg does know how to headstand.

Tip: Why is Facebook Blue in color?

Chat on Facebook in your Firefox sidebar while browsing other Websites

To do this, you need to bookmark http://facebook.com/login.php. Then click on Show all Bookmarks (Manage Bookmarks in older versions) in the Bookmarks menu, then locate the newly created bookmark, single click on it, then click on more in the footer, then check Load this bookmark in Sidebar. Now, you can open that bookmark in Firefox's sidebar and keep on browsing other websites too.

Show Facebook Status Updates only to Specific People or Hide them from someone

Facebook gives you the option to show your status updates to everyone or only your friends. You can further optimize Facebook so that your status updates are shown only to people you wish. Go to Privacy Settings by clicking the Settings icon at the right of the top navigation bar and clicking Privacy Settings. Then, in the Who can see my stuff? section, click on "Who can see your future posts?". Then, customize who you wish to show your posts by clicking on the down arrow that appears next to the Post button on the non-functional status update box. You can also hide your statuses from specific people by adding their name in the Hide from These section under Custom settings. You can also individually change the audience of your posts. Go to the post whose audience you wish to change and choose a different audience by clicking on the globe icon (which denotes that the post is public).

Hide your past posts so that only your friends can see them

Now you can also customize your past posts so that only your friends can see your past activity. To do this, open Facebook Privacy Settings and under the "Limit the Audience for Past Posts" option, select "Limit Old Posts."

Tag people in Status Updates, Wall Posts, Comments or Text

To tag someone in text in a manner that a link is created to the person's profile, use the @ symbol. eg. If you wish to tag John Jamison in your comment write @ John Jamison without any spelling mistake. If the person is in your friend list, a link in blue will be automatically created to the person's profile and he would be "tagged".

Facebook text tagging in action

Write Upside Down, In Bubbles or Inverted Mirror-like text on Facebook

You might have seen many people update their Facebook status saying that "this was the last time they bought a keyboard on eBay" or "they have finally learnt how to update Facebook statuses while doing a headstand" written upside down. Here is how you too can flip text like that and add much more cool effects. Just go to Upside Down Text, uncheck Backwards effect, enter your text and copy the inverted one from the inverted text column and paste it in your status update or chats. You can also write inverted mirror like text by un-checking the upside down effect. To write in bubbles, click on the Bubble Ball text in the top Navigation bar.

e.g. Mirror Effect:- !rorrim a ni deppart ma I !oN hO

e.g. Upside Down Effect:- ɯɐp ʞǝʎqoɐɹp¡

e.g Both Mirror and Upside Down Effect:- ¡poפ ǝɯ dlǝH ˙ʎzɐɹɔ ƃuıʇʇǝƃ sı uıɐɹq ʎW

e.g. Text in Bubbles:- Ⓞⓗ Ⓝⓞ! Ⓜⓞⓡⓔ ⓑⓤⓑⓑⓛⓔⓢ

How hackers hack Facebook Account & How to stop them?

Facebook is, undoubtedly, the most popular social networking website with more than 500 million active users. Due to its popularity, many hackers (or should I say crackers?) are actively involved in hacking Facebook accounts of unsuspecting users. This article outlines the many strategies that such hackers use to gain access to Facebook accounts of hundreds of users each day and how you can stop them from hacking your account.

Facebook is one of the prime target of hackers!

Email Address Hack

I have always been puzzled by Facebook's leniency in this matter. All a hacker needs to do is know your email address and he will be displayed  a confirmation showing your name even if he enters the wrong password. How easily a hacker can then hack your Facebook account if he 'guesses' your password (if you use a weak password) or answers your security question! This is something I hope Facebook improves on quickly. Until Facebook does so, here are some tricks you can use to protect yourself from this vulnerability.

How to safeguard your Email Address?
Just follow these steps:-

1. Hide your Email Address from everyone by going to Edit Profile>Contact Information>Clicking on the icon beside your email address> checking 'Only Me'.
2. Change your primary email address to a one that is only known to you by going to Account Settings>Email> and changing your primary email to the new one (known only to you) and removing your previous email address.
3. For additional security, when in Account Settings, check 'Secure browsing' and 'Send me an email when a new computer or mobile device logs into this account' and click Save.

A hacker at work!

Phishing

Phishing is one of the easiest ways to trick users into giving out their login credentials. All a hacker does is setup a webpage similar in design to that of the Facebook homepage, attach a server sided script to track the username and password entered and store it in a log. Sending people emails stating that someone tagged a photo of them on Facebook in the same format as Facebook and giving a link below to the phishing website further reduces the chances of it being detected as a fake. Sometimes, spam Facebook apps, like those promising to tell who viewed your Facebook profile, automatically post links to phishing websites. A new trend amongst phishers is creating Facebook look-a-like widgets for stealing user's login credentials.

How to prevent yourself from being phished?
At all costs, avoid clicking on suspicious links. Moreover, always check the URL in the address bar before signing in. Avoid logging in through various "Facebook widgets" offered by websites and blogs. Instead, use Facebook's homepage to sign in. Always try to use Safe Search while searching. If you do manage to get phished, report the website so that others may get a warning before visiting it.

Keylogging through Keyloggers

Keylogger is a type of computer virus that tracks key strokes. Keyloggers can be installed remotely on a computer system by a cracker to record all the activity that is going on the victim's computer. Keylogging gets more easy if the hacker has physical access to the victim's computer.

How to stop keyloggers?
Install a good antivirus and update it frequently. Do not click on suspicious links and avoid downloading illegal software. Also, avoid installing free toolbars and other such spam software. Always scan third-person's flash and pen drives before using them on your computer.

Detailed Guide:- PC Security tips to make computer secure

Social Engineering

Social engineering involves using any trick to fool the user into making himself vulnerable to exploits. This could involve anything from sending spoof emails, pretending to be from Facebook, telling you to change your password to 12345678 to a hacker maliciously getting out the answer to your Security Question in a friendly chat or discussion.

How to prevent yourself from being socially engineered?
Stay aware during chats and discussions. Use a tough security question, preferably one whose answer you would never disclose to anyone. Moreover, Facebook, or any other company for that matter, will never ask you to change your password to 12345678 or do something as silly as asking you to send out your login details to prove that you are an active user. Always think before taking actions and your e-life on Facebook will be safe from hackers looking to hack Facebook accounts.

Change Facebook Theme, Color & Appearance

Facebook is a social networking site which enables people to connect with friends and people around. That's how Facebook is usually introduced. However, Facebook is beyond the need of being introduced as almost everyone is on it. Despite its popularity, Facebook has one flaw; the default blue theme is really boring.

Some even consider it an annoyance while visiting Facebook. As Facebook does not allow users to change its theme like MySpace used to, users are left with no other option but to bear the theme Facebook wants them to use.

However, it is relatively easy to change the Facebook theme to a stylish one using an addon and custom themes which are available free of cost on the internet.

An example of the final outcome would be something like in the image.

This is the Ferrari theme. More themes are available for you to choose.

Requirement: The basic requirement for this to work is to have Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome as your browser.

Steps to achieve this: If you use Google Chrome, click here. Mozilla Firefox users should carry out the following steps to successfully change Facebook theme.

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and install 'Stylish' addon.
2. Follow the basic steps to install the addon.
3. Restart Firefox after successfully installing the Stylish addon.
4. Login to your Facebook Account and click on the small 'S' button in your Firefox status bar.
5. Click on "Find Styles for this Site" to open a new tab with free themes to use for Facebook.
6. Click on any theme and a preview will be shown.
7. If everything is fine in the previewed theme, click on "Install with Stylish" button at the top right corner of the page.
8. A dialog box will open.
9. Click on Install in the dialog box.

Steps for Google Chrome

1. Install Stylish for Chrome from the Chrome Web Store.
2. Navigate to Facebook.com and click on the S button.
3. Click on "Find Styles for this Site" to open a new tab with free themes to use for Facebook.
4. Click on any theme and a preview will be shown.
5. If everything is fine in the previewed theme, click on "Install with Stylish" button at the top right corner of the page.

Now whenever you open Facebook, it will show the theme that you have installed with Stylish instead of the boring old blue theme.

Why Facebook is Blue in Color?

When you open Facebook, the first thing that you notice is the blue color it uses. Ever wondered why is Facebook so blue in color and not changing its color scheme?

Ever since they started as 'thefacebook', Facebook has stayed with the blue color. Although major changes have been made in the Facebook theme since then, the major unchanged thing has been the blue color.

Facebook from its early days when it was known as  thefacebook

An exciting fact: In its earlier days, thefacebook.com required you to have an  .edu email id to join.

Everywhere from its login page to Facebook groups, you find only blue.

Facebook Login Page. All Blue!

The reason for this is that  Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder of Facebook is red-green color-blind and blue is the richest colour for him which he confirmed in an online interview with Leo Laporte.

Another important commercial factor for using blue color is the fact that most colors tend to distract the viewers. Blue on the other hand acts as a transparent background to the main content as visible to the human brain due to which most popular websites tend to use the blue color. It can easily be called a webmaster's favorite color. Blue color is also sometimes referred to as 'Nirvana' for the brain.

All these factors make blue a prominent color on Facebook.

If you are bored with Facebook's blue theme and want a stylish theme, visit Change Facebook Theme.

Facebook Tricks, Tips & Hacks

Almost half of all the sharing that happens online is done on Facebook. This in itself is testament enough that Facebook does the job of connecting people fairly well. However, there are some tips and tricks that can allow you to get more out of Facebook and this article contains a list of some of the best such Facebook tips.

Stop Hackers on Facebook
Are you worried about hackers hacking your Facebook account and posting stuff you don't want them to? Just read the linked post to protect yourself from most basic hacks.

Change Facebook's Theme
Are you bored with the default blue colored Facebook theme and want to get rid of it? Go change it to something super cool in Firefox.

Facebook Galaxy Theme

Post an Empty/ Blank Status
Are you tired of constantly thinking new and interesting status updates for your Facebook friends? Then, post an empty status and show your friends that you denounce the thinking that if your status isn't cool, you aren't either. Just go to Facebook, hold Alt and press 0, 1, 7 and 3 respectively and click Post. This will post the null character as your status which basically is an empty space. Laptop users can do this after activating the Number Lock.

This is how the empty status looks like.

Subscribe to the RSS feed of your Notifications 
Go to Facebook's notifications page and click on the RSS link to find the RSS feed containing all your recent notifications. You can then subscribe to this feed in any desktop based RSS reader to instantly know when a new notification occurs.

Change Facebook's Posted via text
Have you noticed that when you update your Facebook status from a mobile, Facebook adds a "Posted via Mobile" link at the bottom of it? You can change that to say hilarious things like "via Carrier Pigeon" or "via My Bedroom." To do this, just go to PostedVia, choose a delivery option and update your status or post to a friend's wall.

 I posted this status from the unreleased iPhone 5 ;) 

Know when friends Unfriend you
Facebook notifies you when someone adds you as a friend but Facebook does not notify you when someone unfriends you. If you wish to access this data, you can use Social Fixer Facebook extension, which will not only allow you to do this but a lot more too.

Update Facebook Status from Firefox
FireStatus is a Firefox addon that allows you to instantly update your Facebook status without having the need to visit Facebook again and again.

Use Dynamic Facebook Profile Links to Fool your Friends
This is a funny use of technology to have fun with your friends. Just say some mean things in your status and then include this link -> www.facebook.com/profile.php?=1233445566. This may look like a link to a specific person's Facebook profile but in reality, it redirects users to their own profile. This happens because of the missing 'id' parameter. You can change the numbers to anything you like.

Find Exactly What you are looking for on Facebook
If you ever had trouble finding a friend or a specific post by one of your friend, you should definitely take a look at the Facebook page on searching. It will help you to get acquainted not only with how Facebook search works but also enable you to get the most out of it.

Access Facebook Chat on Your Desktop
Have you ever wanted to chat with your Facebook friends without opening a web browser? Desktop based applications like Digsby can allow you to stay connected with all your friends even when you close your web browser. This is much similar to chatting with Yahoo! Messenger or Google Talk chat client.