The Muttered Ramblings of a wannabe Journalist

Tuesday, 3 March 2009

Facebook Worms...

No, this isn't something that will appear in your toilet pan if you don't wash your hands.

It's the latest in a long line of viruses to hit the internet, and it targets people where it hurts them most, social networking sites!


With more than 175 millions users on Facebook at present, the site is an ideal target.


The virus is also affecting other networking sites, such as Bebo, hi5 and MySpace.


The virus, according to security firm TrendMicro, is a new variation of the worm "Koobface".


The worm works by sending you a message on Facebook from a "friend", inviting you to watch a video via an external link.


The link will then take you to a page that appears to be similar to YouTube, accompanied by an image of the friend that sent you the link.


To 'watch' the video, you are asked to download Adobe Flash Player, which then takes you away from the site to download the worm inadvertently.


The worm has the ability to gain control of your computer, potentially denying you access to all of your files.


The worm will rifle through your compromised PC, sniffing out browser cookies associated with 10 different social networking sites.


Then, using the usernames and passwords within those cookies it will log on to each service, search your friends and then send those people messages that include a link to the worm.


So, ensure your Anti-Virus software is up-to-date and be extra vigilant when downloading applications, especially if you are friends with me on Facebook!

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