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McAfee Alarms Facebook Users of Password Reset Scam

According to McAfee, a security firm, a new malicious scam is currently aiming the Facebook users.

As reported, the scammers in this latest dodge send e-mails to the users that seem to be sent from Facebook. The e-mail informs these targeted Facebook users that their passwords have been changed, and in order to retrieve their new passwords, they are required to click an attachment provided in the e-mail.

A password stealer is there in this attachment, which can possibly gain access to any combination of username and password which used on a system, apart from login details for the social networking website.

Significantly, this particular threat is potentially quite severe, in the view that more than 400 Million people, who are Facebook users, could probably be a victim of this scam. As emphasized by the security firm in its blog post, this scam is the sixth most rampant malware piece with consumers as the prime target.

As stated by the firm's director of malware Research and Communications, Dave Marcus, according to him, the hackers will most likely succeed in corrupting millions of systems, according to a statement published by reuters.com on March 17, 2010.

McAfee noticed that there are definitely some apparent indications of this being a phishing scam. Firstly, Facebook never circulates e-mail to its users in such a way. It is quite possible that it may send a link through an e-mail asking the user to the reset the password, but definitely not an e-mail with an attachment. Secondly, awkward phrases and poor grammar used in the e-mail are other clues. For example, in the salutation, the sender has not capitalized Facebook. It is like "Dear user of facebook."

Users must use the tips to prevent falling for this latest scam, such as better avoid opening the attachment, and quickly remove the Facebook scam e-mail when they receive it. Computers can be safeguarded by such cyber assaults by installing a comprehensive security software suite, which includes anti-spyware, anti-virus, and firewall protection.

The consumers must ensure that the most up-to-date security software is running on their system, and that the subscription of the software is active. If the subscription needs to be reactivated, they must not waste time to avoid the possible scam.

Related article: McAfee Alerts Windows about Accessibility Hole in Vista

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