Fresh Facebook malware attack spotted

Security experts are warning users and administrators of a new crop of Facebook malware.

F-Secure said in a recent blog posting that the company has tracked down a number of pages on the social networking site which attempt to infect users by promising free videos. New attacks spread via networking site.

The reason I choose this article is that it emphasizes on what a large scale malware infection can be spread. Facebook being a very popular networking site, this marlware attack had an impact on millions of users. The economic impact of malware events increases as organizational size increases.

Today, with lot of sensitive data like date of birth, phone number and social security number being posted online, the risk of the data being compromised is very high. It is highly necessary to protect our information from being tampered.

Then how can we identify?

• Never open a file from an unknown source. Although it’s probably over kill, I suggest that you mark all recently downloaded or installed items on your computer without your prior knowledge to be malware.
• Update your OS. If possible, download and install all security fixes. No matter how much you have Windows it’s always good practice to patch up your OS to prevent others from exploiting it’s holes.
• Install security software like AVs and ASs.
  
• Activate the Guest account. If multiple people are using your PC, restrict their access by using a guest account or equivalent. Sure, you may end up editing the Policies so they can save and edit files but at least they won’t be able to install malware behind your back, unintentionally or otherwise.
  
• Stop look and read thatURL.
• Keep changing the passwords.
  
• Use common sense. The spread of most malware relies on carelessness on the part of the victim. If a sudden message pops in your IM that looks as if it’s screaming “Hey click me I’m a spam site”, do yourself a favor and close the window.

This article helps extend our knowledge on how malware can have adverse effects on our day to day life. So it is better to be cautious and careful when accessing the internet.

Please refer the following link for full article:

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2228485/fresh-facebook-malware-attack