Facebook Virus

In light of the recent security review on Facebook(see earlier post), I thought this article would be of particular interest. PC World Reports that a Facebook Virus is spreading rapidly. The virus turns an infected computer into a zombie, for potential use in a botnet. This is achieved by setting the affected machine to access the internet via a proxy set up by the hacker.

The virus is being spread through Facebook messages with bizarre titles like "Hey, I have this hilarious video of you dancing" and "You look awesome in this new movie." When users click on the link to the 'video' they are prompted by a Flash Player update download. The download, while something most people would routinely click, actually has a malicious file embedded.

Although this tactic seems obvious and ridiculous, the rate of success is alarming not only with regard to security, but also when the gullibility of internet users is concerned.