Cool, I got the current round of Facebook spam on my wall. It’s cool, because now I get to show you folk the one simple thing you can do that will protect you from phishing attacks more than any anti-virus software you’ll ever get.
It uses legacy technology known as ‘eyeballs’ and really isn’t that complicated.
But first – the current scam. Most facebook users are aware by now of the details. Basically, an infected users account will post something like this to your wall.
With the following msg :
(Your name), this is hilarious! lol :P :P :P
But we all know about that now so we won’t click on the bikini clad bum, will we?
(Personally, I wouldn’t click on anything with that many :P’s – even if they are a real friend, they probably shouldn’t be.)
But what about the next time? How do you best guard your PC, your facebook account and all the other juicy bits dirty, rotten, evil & nasty malware is designed to capture?
The answer is simple. Pay Attention!
No, seriously – check out the pic below. Notice the URL (site name) at the bottom left? You’ll see that in every (non-mobile) browser for every link you ever hover over. If you check this before clicking a link and notice something that’s ‘not quite right’ – you’re already as step ahead.
The second thing to pay attention to, (when it comes to facebook and some other social networking sites in any case) is this (just underneath the bum)
So, clearly not from Youtube. If you hover over the Avi Video link, you’ll see the following:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=123901010971252
You can click this safely – it’s just an application (Name: Avi Video, ID: 123901010971252) Where, you’ll also find this:
That’s not to say, 100% that the app is ‘responsible’ for creating the malware. Just that it’s being used to distribute it.
So - all the information you need to know something is crap, evil and spammy is there. You just need to know where to look, and what for. Now you do – and I expect no more spam from you on my wall.
If it’s too late and you’ve already picked up the malware, check out facebook’s official steps to recover your account.
If you see something you’re not sure of - let me know.
You can safely copy any link address by right-clicking on the link and selecting ‘copy link address‘ (Google Chrome) ‘copy link location‘ (Firefox) or ‘copy shortcut‘ (Internet Explorer)
Throw the link, and the address of the site you got it from on a contact form along with your email address and I’ll suss it out for you.