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PC World reports:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/149632/article.html?tk=nl_dnxnws

Sophos Warns of Facebook Malware Attack
Joan Goodchild, CSO

Aug 10, 2008 10:10 am

[partial quote]

According to Sophos, messages left on Facebook users' walls are urging members to view a video, which appears to be hosted on a Google website. But users who click on the link are taken to a site which urges them to download an executable file to watch the movie, according said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. The file downloads malicious code and displays an image of a court jester sticking his tongue out.

[end of partial quote]

This isn't new... it's been happening on web sites for quite a long time. This particular method or web site might be different, exploiting social networks like Facebook to deliver their mal-ware. Butt heads (yes that's what they are) have been putting up on Facebook.com pages a video - that entices you to download a program in order to play the video.

Never download a program, a software, a codec (supposedly) to play a video unless you've had professional help or you are yourself knowledgeable or expert enough to do so. If you need Codecs to play certain kinds of videos... close your web browser right then and there and go to a reputable source for such codecs. (Codecs are Coder-Decoder software drivers that decode the format that popular video files are stored in and allow your player to show them on your computer.)

Generally speaking, facebook or elsewhere, being invited to download a software is a VERY BAD IDEA. Don't Do It. You've been warned. You'll need professional help once you've infected your computer with a Spyware or Virus. Chances are you'll get more than one. I see computers all of the time that are so jammed up with Viruses and Spyware that they can barely boot up - and barely can do anything else at all. It literally takes hours to days to remove some of the worst infections on PC's and Laptops. Often something bad on the computer keeps re-downloading and re-installed the other stuff. Anti-virus software and most Anti-Spyware software alone won't get it. Your browser gets hijacked, you get advertising pop-ups, things you type get sent to others without your permission. It's not a good way for your computer to be. Avoid downloading stuff from unknown sources at all costs. I'll say it again... avoid downloading stuff from unknown sources at all costs. Don't do it.

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