Pensacola Computer Help Technoblog

Security software manufacturer BitDefender today released some very interesting statistics which it has garnered from its Facebook Safego app which allows users to check their vulnerability to malware that they are exposed to via Facebook. The scary results show that 20 percent of Facebook users are exposed to malicous posts in their ‘news feeds’. These users are at risk just by clicking on one of these posts which have been highjacked maliciously. The scary part, is that the sampling that was gotten in these statistics come from people who were at least security conscious enough to install this app in the first place which means that these numbers could in fact be much higher in reality.

A breakdown of how these malicious malware items can get into your computer:

• over 60 percent of attacks come from notifications from malicous third party apps: those apps that you install without usually reading or understanding exactly what they do.
• In the subset of apps, 21.5 percent of the total malware found came from Facebook apps come from those apps that people think can get around common Facebook functions, ie: seeing who has viewed your profile, or seeing who has unfriended you.
• 15.4 percent use things like offering free items in Farmville or other popular games
• 11.2 percent offer Facebook enhancements like dislike buttons or backgrounds
• 7.1 percent tempt users with offers of new versions of popular games like WOW
• 5.4 percent want to give you a free cell phone
• 1.3 percent sucker people by offering a way to watch new movies online for free
• An additional 16 percent of the malware is spread through links to watch videos like the one where an anaconda coughs up a hippo (yeah that would be cool to watch, but seriously)

For those who think they are safe because they have a Mac, guess again, you are actually probably more at risk on Facebook through viruses like the latest Koobface variant that is multi-platform due to most Mac users not having adequate anti-virus/anti-malware software (and the inherent flaws already known in Mac security).

Remember, just because a post ‘appears’ to come from a friend, doesn’t mean it does – many people get their accounts hijacked every day, either through malware on their own systems, or just plain easy to guess passwords. Always be carefull clicking links, never EVER download software that comes through a link on Facebook, and be very careful installing any Facebook app.

If you are interested in the Safego app from BitDefender, you can find it here: Safego Facebook App

If you are in Pensacola and worried about virus/malware infection or think you have gotten a Computer virus or have Malware on your computer, visit Pensacola Computers at http://pensacolacomputers.com and check out the Tech Support page there for links to the best free and paid for Antivirus and Antimalware software.