PandaLabs Says the Facebook “Like” Option May Scam You

PandaLabs, the anti-malware laboratory of Panda Security, the company responsible for Panda Cloud Antivirus, the  antimalware application that should be high on every users list of installed antimalware applications, reported today on the increasing number of scams that utilize the Facebook “Like” option.

According to Panda, in one particular attack –

“The attack uses eye-catching messages related to the popular game Farmville, the “Sex and the City 2” movie, or the keyword sex to grab the attention of logged-in Facebook users as they browse Web pages with the “Like” button, the Facebook wall feature or messaging system.”

If you are a Facebook user, and you want to keep your “friends” happy, use extreme caution in using the Like option. In a  “clickjacking” attack, you’ll end up recommending your “Like” to all your friends, who may not be at all impressed with your choice, since you have potentially made them part of the clickjacking attack. Probably not a good way to keep friends and influence people.

If you’re wondering why clickjacking is important to cyber-criminals, I’ll let Panda CEO, Luis Corrons explain it –

“Cyber-criminals can make money just by tricking you into visiting a Web page with ads. Or worse still, they can spread malware and infect you. This possibility has not yet been exploited, but it would be relatively easy and effective to do it.”

Additional information is available in the PandaLabs blog.

About PandaLabs

Since 1990, its mission has been to detect and eliminate new threats as rapidly as possible to offer our clients maximum security. To do so, PandaLabs has an innovative automated system that analyzes and classifies thousands of new samples a day and returns automatic verdicts (malware or goodware). This system is the basis of collective intelligence, Panda Security’s new security model which can even detect malware that has evaded other security solutions.

Currently, 99.4 percent of malware detected by PandaLabs is analyzed through this system of collective intelligence. This is complemented through the work of several teams, each specialized in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, phishing, spam, etc), who work 24/7 to provide global coverage. This translates into more secure, simpler and more resource-friendly solutions for clients.

This explanation of how Panda manages its enterprise, is one reason I’m so high on Panda Cloud Antivirus as a first line of defense against malware infection. If you haven’t tried it yet, then check it out here.

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