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Koobface reared its head again more than a month ago (Koobface/Facebook: get it?). And although Twitter seems to have gotten it under control in the past week, Facebook customers continue to naively spread the virus after opening links such as “You must see this video” or “I tagged your photo.”
Hackers are routinely piercing some of the millions of Facebook profiles and then donning them as disguises them to hook that person’s friends. The goal is usually to fool you into buying bogus anti-virus software that claims to remove the problem the hacker created in the first place. Or the infection scoops up your credit card and personal information.
Where it really gets expensive is when it comes time to either get the bug out or scrap the machine altogether.
Many of us have seen it enough times to know: Your friend apparently has sent you and a dozen other people a bizarre link. Deep down, you know it can’t be real — yet you click it anyway.
Bang! Now YOU’RE infected.
What to do?
* First and foremost: Be careful what you click on. Don’t click just cause it’s there.
* Use an up-to-date browser, such as Firefox 3.x, Internet Explorer 8, Google Chrome or Opera 10. Keep your anti-virus software up to date.
* Learn the lingo: Infected links usually carry the same come-on. The latest hot line: “It really works!” Actually, it really sucks!
* If you get a Facebook virus, change your password immediately.
* There’s such a thing as too much security. It might seem like double-barreled protection, but you shouldn’t run two antivirus programs at the same time. They’ll often fight each other, leaving a back door open for a virus to scoot in through.
*Be wary against spam and online fraud by implementing internet safety for children.
Social networking programmers are trying to fight back, but cybercreeps are constantly monitoring the system to be sure they’re flying low enough under the radar to fool enough victims. Gone are the days when hackers would sprinkle viruses through the infrastructure just for giggles. Now they work ’em like systems, and only through Windows.
So it’s really up to you. Someone’s knocking. Are you going to open that door?
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