‘May God always bless..’ Facebook virus hoax spreads

Facebook users are sending scary warnings to each other regarding a supposed new piece of malware spreading across the social network.

 

 

Attention!!!If you see anyone post out an application written "May God always bless this kind person below with peace, love and happiness", with your profile picture attached below, and send by your friend via Bold Text. Please DONT click "like" or "SHARE", is a spyware, and all your info at FB will be copy and reuse for other purpose. Please share this info out. Thanks......;)

 

The warnings are being spread rapidly by well-intentioned Facebook users, but the truth is that we have seen no evidence of any such spyware.

 

Our friends at Facecrooks believe they have got to the bottom of the mystery.

 

They have determined that rather than a genuine virus, the warning was kicked off by a Facebook application called Bold Text making over-exuberant, if not downright spammy, wall postings.

 

 

Over one million people are reported to have used the application, so clearly its self-promoting tactics are working.

 

If you see one of your friends reposting the warning about the ‘May God always bless..’ message then please tell them that it isn’t true that it’s a virus, and point them to this article or the information on Facecrooks.

 

And if you installed the Bold Text application, and aren’t enjoying the messages it is posting, you should revoke its access to your Facebook account.

 

It’s not the first time, of course, that Facebook users have been misled of the full facts by virus hoaxes. Most recently we have seen a bogus warning message about an Olympic Torch virus that could “burn the whole hard disc.. C of your computer”

 

Make sure that you stay informed about the latest genuine scams spreading fast across Facebook and other internet attacks. Join the Sophos Facebook page, where more than 100,000 people regularly share information on threats and discuss the latest security news.

 

By Graham Cluley @ nakedsecurity.sophos.com

 

The Facebook ‘Stupidity’ virus warning meme

In the wake of the recent headlines about privacy concerns and the widespread“sexiest video ever” malware attack against Facebook users earlier this week, I’ve been keeping a close eye on the messages people post publicly to see how they’re coping, and what general advice they give to each other about security and privacy issues.

 

One of the things I’ve noticed is a growing number of people sharing a joke virus warning with eachother.

A typical version reads:

Another Virus is Spreading Like Wild Fire on FACEBOOK. IT'S CALLED "STUPIDITY". It makes U join FAKE FAN PAGES Promising FREE STUFF 4 Your Games. This Virus Spreads to ALL Ur Friends and they TOO Become Stupid. There is No Known Cure For this as of YET, Only Precaution is When Someone Invites U to become a FAN...JUST CLICK 'IGNORE' or better- 'BLOCK'. COPY & REPOST THIS WARNING SO OTHERS ARE SAFE FROM "STUPIDITY"

 

Hopefully I don’t need to tell any regular Clu-blog readers that this isn’t a genuine virus warning. Rather like the Amish, Badtimes and Irish virus hoaxes, this “Stupidity” alert is being sent around Facebook as a joke.

 

READ MORE…. and see the video

 

 

The Hacker Door Facebook security scare

A warning being sent across Facebook is scaring users into believing that their accounts have been hacked.

 

Here is a typical example of a warning message:

To all of my friends: COPY & PASTE: New problem found.... Hacker in door in our friends list!....We are now listed as friends of ourselves! You need to delete yourself from your friends list to close the door to hackers. To do this ... Go to Account, go to edit friends, there search for your name on the list and click the X to get your name removed.

 

The problem with this warning is that it’s complete poppycock, and causing some users to panic that they could have been hacked.

 

Yes, there is a bug that means that when you search through your Facebook friends list, you show up yourself as one of your friends. And yes, even if you try and “delete” yourself as a friend you’ll pop up again when you refresh the webpage.

 

But this is not evidence that your account has been compromised, and if you forward this warning to your Facebook friends and acquaintances you are only helping to perpetuate the hoax.

 

We saw a similar hoax spreading across Facebook earlier this year in what we called the “Automation Labs” security scare.

 

In summary, the “Hacker Door” scare is not something to worry about, and you should always check your facts before forwarding security warnings like this to your friends and colleagues.

 

However, there are real security issues on Facebook, as with any other social network. Make sure you read our guidelines for better security and privacy on Facebook.

 

Oh, and you might want to become a Fan of Sophos on Facebook too!

 

By Graham Cluley, Sophos

 

 

The FarmVille ‘Three Spring Eggs’ virus is a hoax

Panic is spreading quickly amongst FarmVille’s many online players following internet reports of a virus connected with sharing three eggs.

 

The Facebook farming simulation game, which is a huge hit on Facebook with over 80 million regular players, is currently being dogged with false reports that a virus is spreading via links which offer gamers the ability to send three eggs at once.

 

A typical warning being spread by concerned FarmVille players reads as follows:

RED ALERT!!! Norton has just informed me that the post for Send the 3 spring Eggs at a time is a virus, Rawand Bradosty is a HACKER from Pakistan, do not click on this post it is not legitimate, please copy and repost immediately.

The truth, however, is that we have not seen any virus being distributed in this manner and Rawand Bradosty appears to be having his name tarnished without justification. In fact, it could be argued that the warning is causing much more disruption and time-wasting than a genuine virus outbreak would ever have done!

Of course, you should always be careful about clicking on unsolicited links as they could lead you to page containing malicious content or a site designed to phish credentials from you. And you should ensure that you have up-to-date security on your computer, checking every link that you click on. But in this case, the scare has got out of hand and is proving to be a hoax that is hard to stamp out.

 

Do your bit – don’t forward virus alerts to your friends and family until you have confirmed that the alert is real with a reputable security company. Otherwise, you could be just helping to keep a hoax alive.

 

Don’t forget, if you’re on Facebook you may want to become a Fan of Sophos on Facebook to help stay up-to-date with the latest security news.

 

By Graham Cluley, Sophos

 

 

WARNING: “98B351″ AMBER Alert Hoax Still Spreading on Twitter, Facebook

A very resilient hoax is making the rounds on Twitter and Facebook. It consists of a message that poses as an AMBER Alert about a 3-year-old kidnapped boy. The message further claims the boy has been kidnapped in a Mitsubishi Eclipse with the registration plate “98B351“, and many users have fallen for it, spreading it further via Facebook, Twitter, and SMS.

According to IT security company Sophos, the message is nothing more than a hoax, but the said license plate number is already ranking high among the most commonly searched terms on the internet, which means the hoax is working. Don’t fall for it!

A quick search on the reveals there are currently no active AMBER Alerts. Interestingly, this hoax has been making the rounds for several weeks, but – as hoaxes often do – it seems to now be resurfacing stronger than ever. An AMBER Alert is a child abduction alert issued upon the suspected abduction of a child; the best way to check if it’s real is to go straight to National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children’s website.

 

by Stan Schroeder from mashable.com