Facebook announced Tuesday it has been using a new
security tool to help detect and remove malicious
software for users of the world’s biggest social
network. Facebook said it was working with Kaspersky
Lab, bolstering a program implemented with other
online security firms including ESET, F-Secure and Trend
Micro.
“Thanks to the collaboration with these companies, in
the past three months we have helped clean up more
than two million people’s computers that we detected
were infected with malware when they connected to
Facebook,” said Trevor Pottinger, a Facebook security
engineer.
“In these cases, we present a cleanup tool that runs in
the background while you continue using Facebook, and
you get a notification when the scan is done to show
you what it found.” Pottinger said the program uses “a
combination of signals to help find infections and get
the malware off of your computer for good, even if
the malware isn’t actively spreading spam or harmful
links.”
Kaspersky Lab’s Kate Kochetkova said in a separate
blog post that Facebook users are often targeted in
online fraud schemes such as “phishing,” which are
faked emails designed to get recipients to download
malware. “Facebook is a major aim for phishers: one in
five phishing scams targets Facebook notifications,”
she said.
“So be vigilant when you receive emails appearing to be
from Facebook: as they can be fake. There are lots of
Trojans targeting Facebook users as well.” Fraudsters
may also use Facebook, Kochetkova said, to “‘like’
weird things and promote questionable goods and
services on your behalf.”
1 Comments
Nice