A virus identified as “Koobface” is using Facebook and its messaging system to infect users’ PCs and obtain their credit card information. “Koobface” main target are the 120 million users of this social networking site. This is by the far the most recent attack of hackers online. They are generally keeping an eye on users of social networking sites.
Barry Schnitt, Facebook spokesperson had already responded regarding the issue. He said that there had been a lot of viruses that attempted to use Facebook to disseminate themselves. However he made it a point that only a very small portion of the whole Facebook population had been directly affected.
Furthermore, Craig Schmugar, McAffe’s researcher added that the virus is still actively infecting PCs together with email threats.
How does “Koobface” work? If your PC has been infected with the virus, it sends notes to your friends and families who also have a Facebook account. The message is headed with an inviting title: “You look just awesome in this new movie.” Of course your friend or family would be tempted to open the message. They will then be redirected to a website which features a free system update download of Adobe’s Flash Player. (more...)
