Koobface Worm Scams Facebook and MySpace Users

by Frank Jovine on 08/26/2008 in Computers, Internet

If you received a message from a “friend” in the last few days saying that you’ve been caught on tape, it’s not true! If you were scammed than it’s a lesson learned.

The malicious software attempts to lure users in with messages ranging from “You’ve been caught on hidden cam” to the one about Hilton tossing a dwarf on the street. The messages contain a link that takes unsuspecting users to a Web page that looks like YouTube. There the page tells visitors that to view the video, they need to click on another link to download and install updated software. Those who fall for the scam are actually installing malicious software.

The worm, called Koobface, turns compromised computers into “zombie” machines that can be used in other types of online attacks. The malicious software may also include keylogger software, which can record a computer user’s keystrokes — and potentially grab passwords when they are entered on a computer.

Alexander Gostev, senior virus analyst at computer security firm Kaspersky Lab, said in a statement that this type of attack could be a successful one for hackers. “Users are very trusting of messages left by ‘friends’ on social networking sites. So the likelihood of a user clicking on a link like this is very high,” he said.

Surf carefully and always check the validity of who is sending what before pointing and clicking!