Twenty Percent of Web-links on Facebook Open Viruses

According to ZoneAlarm a Web security firm, 1 web-link from a group of 5, which gets exhibited within news stream can direct visitors onto a site capable of contaminating their computers with a destructive PC virus, published BUSINESS INSIDER in news dated January 5, 2012.

Actually, the security company recently issued an infographic about safety on Facebook the former section of which provides already known statistics. These statistical data show that spam attacks 4m end-users everyday, while 600,000 logins get hijacked daily at the rate of 7 logins per second that's so enormous that it seems like an epidemic. Aside this ZoneAlarm's research just finds that over 20% of news web-links presently lead onto malware like viruses.

Meanwhile, it isn't so that everybody will agree with the above figure, as it's quite difficult to believe. Nonetheless, the research by ZoneAlarm merely considered Facebook accounts whose owners' PCs had already contracted infection.

The said infection disseminates across the social networking website as the involved malicious software is linked with friends' accounts, and the friends may follow the link.

Moreover, ZoneAlarm's research further revealed that the web-links might as well lead onto scammers' fake sites. Consequently, specialists become still more doubtful about how far the company's assertion is valid.

Basically attackers, as per the researchers, have a wide range of reasons towards wishing to contaminate end-users' personal computers. Advanced crime gangs attempt at collecting the maximum possible PCs for turning them into zombies to add to botnets. This implies the criminals can get one's PC for performing tasks devoid of his knowledge.

ZoneAlarm says that as the social-networking website grows in popularity and pretty quickly, it becomes one key target for online crooks.

However, the company suggests some tips for the safety of Internet-users. First, they must set sufficiently strong passwords. Secondly, they mustn't accept invitations from buddies who are known as also keep track of whatever those buddies are dispatching or sharing across the social network. Thirdly, they mustn't follow dubious web-links, while download only that security software which's trustworthy, from Facebook. Finally, they must enable https:// browsing within their Facebook configurations, ZoneAlarm adds.

Related article: Twenty Leading Mail Viruses in May 2008 Released by Kaspersky

» SPAMfighter News - 1/16/2012