Beware of the pornographic Facebook virus

Hyderabad: One of these days, when you open your Facebook account, you might come across a post tagged with a caption “You won’t believe what you are gonna see!” with the photograph of a half naked woman. If you click on the link your friends will be automatically tagged in, and automated status will start appearing in your FB wall with pornographic images. Automated messages with the same links might also be sent to your friends without your knowledge. Your account details might also be compromised.

Facebook viruses have been around for a while, but recently there have been a spurt in such posts appearing on users’ wall. Cyber experts say you get a Facebook virus in the form of a pornographic link or other attractive posts in which you will be automatically tagged when your friends click on it. And when you click on those links, a malicious code gets installed.

According to Arun Agarwal, an IT expert from Gachibowli, with every new mega event, you can expect new viruses. “When Laden was killed, links surfaced on Facebook suggesting you could watch the raid or see Osama’s body. Or there will be links suggesting nude photos of celebrities,” he said. “To identify an FB virus, you have to pay a little more attention. Before you click on a link see if the source is authentic. If not, don't click. If you're tempted to click, first run your mouse over the link and look in the lower left corner of your browser. You’ll see the URL attached to that link. If it’s not a URL you're familiar with don’t click,” said Mr Agarwal.

The first thing you have to do when you have a FB virus is to change the password. Once you have changed your password send messages to your friends not to click on the link.