Bug Bytes

Spending endless hours on networking sites? Heres a bit of bad news.

Social networking sites can pose a threat to users

Spending endless hours on networking sites? Heres a bit of bad news. Social networking sites have become an easy target for cybercriminals, says Amit Nath,country manager Trend Micro India and SAARC region,adding that Trend Labs Researchers have received samples of Facebook and Twitter spam. The mail,which poses as a Facebook notification message,uses adult-themed strings to lure users into opening the attachment, says Nath. Once infected with the worm,the users personal information becomes accessible and it is possible to commit ID theft.

Koobface,he tells us,is a classic example of a worm that spreads via social networking sites such as Facebook,Bebo and Friendster. Koobface has been particularly problematic for the over 300 million Facebook users and maintains a rather consistent presence among Facebook social network users. But then,Nath says,its not very difficult to stay away from the bug. All you have to do is avoid promiscuous friendships. Rather than attempting to win an imaginary and virtual popularity contest,demonstrate restraint by not accepting friend invites from strangers. Log out of the social networking site when its not being used. Use a unique strong password on each account. Never click links in messages received unexpectedly and never login to any site by clicking a link in a message, he adds.

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