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Over 10% of Movie Posts on Facebook Represent like Jacking Assaults, Discovers Symantec

Symantec the security firm lately estimated that a maximum of 15% of distinct movie files posted on Facebook were likejacking assaults. EBrand published this dated September 6, 2011.

Derived from the phrase 'clickjacking,' 'likejacking' involves getting computer-users for clicking a link that leads to an unintended invisible activity. In addition to causing an awkward feeling due to the content added to the victim's profile, likejacking also helps scammers in filching Internet account details alternatively contaminating computers with malicious programs.

As per Symantec, its researchers have identified some three in twenty of the movie files added to Facebook as likejacking assaults in which fraudsters attempted at duping end-users into finding certain content attractive devoid of their knowledge or permission.

Likejacking assaults characteristically happen using an invisible iFrame to overlap a bogus movie player. In reality, when this movie player is clicked, a Like is submitted thereby spreading the particular scam onto end-users' Facebook contacts.

Recently during August 2011, Symantec examined the movie posts counting some 3.5m in order that the firm could push its own software namely Norton Safe Web usable on Facebook. The software comes for free as it scrutinizes News Feeds as well as spots URLs having e-threats like malware downloads, phishing websites or web-links leading onto dangerous sites.

An example of likejacking assault that resulted in the download of malicious software onto end-users' PCs is the one of June 2011, which was disseminated all over Facebook, when a movie file was offered showing a webcam depicting a female unclothing.

In the meantime, according to Security Company Sophos, the latest likejacking attack isn't the lone one. During March 2011, when the Japanese tsunami and earthquake occurred, plentiful scams surged on Facebook when in one, the fraudsters offered a web-link for a co-called "Japanese Tsunami RAW Tidal Wave Footage" that in reality was false.

Security researchers stated that users who followed that web-link might get so duped that they would "like" the site followed with completing a survey involving personal information that would subsequently help proliferate the scam. Nonetheless, likejacking did not merely take place with movie posts, Sophos stated.

Related article: Opera 9.1 Browser Introduces phishing Alert

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