16-May-2011 00:42

Have you suffered from a fake Facebook link?

In the last few months Facebook has become inundated with spammy, fake links promising to lead users through to ‘sites showing anything from how many active visitors you have > unreleased photos of Osama bin Laden's body > to how popular you really are on Social Media.

These viruses, if they can be considered viruses, are known within the industry as ‘clickjacking schemes’ & are spread virally by posting & reposting links to your contacts’ Facebook pages… & every time a link is clicked, the ‘virus’ and related spam is spread that much deeper...

These types of links often lead to malware, again viruses that are downloaded to a user's computer, and which help spread the links even further – according to Kevin Haley, director of Symantec Security Response.

Malware is responsible for ruinous attention to our computers including allowing access to our personal information, logins and passwords.

Facebook reportedly has said that, “it’s working hard to cut down on these dangerous links.”

Facebook spokesman Fred Wolens adds, “we’ve shut down all these pages as soon as we detect them or they're reported to us."

How can we stop this growing problem?

Well, the simplest answers are firstly, to set up an up-to-date virus programme on your computer with ongoing software updates, and secondly, if in doubt… don’t open the link...

Be responsible out there :)

Norman