Facebook Attack Spreading both Windows AND Mac malware

Facebook Attack Spreading both Windows AND Mac malware

 

Haiz,again.

 

You don't need Facebook. It's dumb AND dangerous.

 

The parents that got their daughter back would think differently. Without Facebook, they would never have found their daughter, who after a natural disaster got lost. She told her story in Facebook, and eventually her parents found her. DNA tests confirmed it was their daughter.

It's always a matter of perpective.

 

Never have been a fan of social networking.

 

OK that's one out of how many thousand? Tell it to Wiener.

 

I know of one situation... If more exist, that would be great. But, one's better than none.

 

That's true.

 

For those who follow malware attacks, this falls into the "What else is new" department and generates a big Yawn.

The title could read, "Google Search Results Spreading both Windows AND Mac malware"

Facebook Exploits Articles are big money makers for the online news media, of course. They have all of the ingredients: sensational scenarios, pick-on-an-organization scapegoat, etc.

Looking at a couple of reports:

Protect Your Network from Facebook Malware
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/203793/protect_your_network_from_facebook_malware.html

Facebook Malware Attack: Fake Strauss-Kahn Video Infects Mac And PC Users (UPDATE)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/01/facebook-malware-strauss-kahn-video_n_869576.html

The first exploit I saw against a social networking site was in 2007 and MySpace:



There were both social engineering and remote code execution components to the attack, and except for being on a social networking site, it was no different than any similar exploit found in redirection scenarios (from search engines results or sites compromised with i-frame code).

The preventative measures were the same in any case:

• being alert
  
  
• protection in place to block the execution of unwanted code in case of a mistake or accident
  
  

And so it is today. Nothing has really changed except that there are millions more users on Facebook, meaning more victims to respond and click to watch sensational videos with alluring titles, such as this mentioned in the article:

I don't think this is a fair assessment at all.

I'm not on Facebook, but recently I became acquainted with of a group of employees at a guest ranch in a remote area in the Sierras in California. They had Facebook accounts to interact with each other and a few other friends. Upon inquiring, I discovered you needed a password to get into their group. During a destructive winter storm which washed out a road, they set up a page with current information and photographs and sent the link to friends and family. It was more current and uptodate than most of the news reports!

I asked if they were concerned about the "bad" things we read that can happen on Facebook.

Not at all, they replied. "We don't click on trash" one said! And, "None in our group would "Like" stuff like that.

I think this comment from the pcworld article sums up their approach (and probably the approach of many who have not become victims of these exploits:

regards,

-rich

 

Facebook not doing anything about the malicious links is not surprising to me. My sister got a virus from a Facebook site named Zuma (or something like that), it was reported by many people, yet I go to the same site two days later (after having to repair her computer) using Ubuntu and it's still being dished out. I only let my wife go to Facebook using Linux. I personally do not use Facebook. It's a bit silly really.

Later...

 

What should Facebook do? Go through every profile and delete all of these malicious links.

@Rmus, thanks for the very informative post.

 

Hmm...How about Bitdefender SafeGo?Maybe you should give it a try.

 

Why? I don't have any problems with Facebook or malware. I think before I click...

 

Nice.That's what we called it as "Common Sense".

 

If you can't understand the benefits of facebook you probably have no idea how to market yourself in today's world. The sheer amount of job opportunities I've gotten/ friends have gotten by utilizing modern tools such as facebook and twitter speaks for itself.

If you really think the most popular and important site on the internet is nothing but a public forum, you need to take another look.

Thanks for the article.

edit: This is in response to the earlier posts about "why bother having one"

 

The problem is the the police and FBI also read Facebook and are looking for terrorists and Pedophiles and other crime, and criminals look for and harvest your info. Market yourself ? Ha. Your Boss also reads Facebook, I read about a teacher who criticized her superior on Facebook she was suspended without pay! Facebook is a nice idea, but the world is filled with people and Burroughs who don't play nice or fair.

 

Boss read my Facebook, nope, Boss is not my "Friend" on Facebook. That teacher most likely had add her Boss as a Friend, not too smart if you ask me. Not Facebook's fault.

True and this applies to all of the internet and live in general.