I've noticed a lot of Facebooks have been getting hacked lately. This is usually due to allowing apps to publish content to your wall without realizing that content would be endless amounts of spam links. There are other causes as well. So without further ado, I give you five tips to improve the security of your Facebook account.

1. Optimize your password.
This is always a good step. Make sure your password has a good mix of both letters and numbers in it to make it harder to figure out. Try not to involve your name or contact information in it either. If you really want to boost the security, add some capital letters too. Oh, and if your password is "password", know that all hope is lost for you.

2. Use Facebook HTTPS.
Facebook recently added the ability to browse Facebook using HTTPS, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. This ensures that the connection you have with the server is encrypted and can't be accessed by eavesdroppers. Unfortunately, HTTPS is currently not yet supposed by apps on Facebook, but it's supported almost everywhere else. To enable this, go into your Account Settings and down to Account Security.

3. Avoid applications.
This isn't to say that third party applications aren't safe, because most are, but you never know what you may be really dealing with when you click "Allow" to certain applications. They get more information about you then you'd probably like, and almost all require access to post to your wall. This is how spam links can generate. You'll probably annoy the hell out of your friends too.

4. Opt in for login alerts.
In the same section as that HTTPS option (Account Settings > Account Security), you can choose to receive an email or text message every time your account is logged into by a computer or mobile phone out of the ordinary from what you usually use. Should this happen, you can choose to end activity on these devices.

5. Spread the word.
If one person can tell two of their friends how to keep their account secure and then tell those two friends to tell two more friends and so on, well then before you know it, nobody is annoying anybody else with spam and we can all have a bit more peace of mind. A little knowledge can go a long way.