Facebook Users Are Warned on New Variant of Koobface Worm

Facebook users must be extra careful when receiving messages from friends who send you a link to lead you to a video site as this could be a virus. When users click on to the video link, it will lead users to a page displaying the name and photo of the friend. Users are required to install some applications in order to view the video clip. Once users click on to the “Install” button, it will redirect users to a download site to download a “setup.exe” file, which is the new variant of Koobface dubbed Worm_Koobface.az. Researchers from security firm, Trend Micro, warn users of this popular social-networking site to beware of the new Kooface worm which is currently spreading widely.


A click to the link will lead users to a fake reputable video site such as YouTube

Koobface is a worm which was initially found on Facebook in December last year. This virus has thence spread to other social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, hi5, MyYearbook, Tagged.com, Netlog, Fubar, and LiveJournal.com. The earlier versions of this worm didn’t have all the complexities and automation built in. “This new variant has a back end doing all the modifications”, Jamz Yaneza, a senior threat analyst and researcher at Trend Micro highlighted.

Security expert from Trend Micro, Rik Ferguson, also commented: “The worm connects to the respective site using login credentials stored in the gathered cookies. It then searches for an infected user’s friends, who are then sent messages containing a link where a copy of the worm is downloaded. It also sends and receives information from an infected machine by connecting to several servers. This allows hackers to execute commands on the affected machine.”

Users are advised to ignore or confirm with the sender when receiving this kind of message rather than clicking on the link directly which will open up a can of worms, literally speaking!

Related Articles

• Facebook Under Attack by Koobface Virus
• Security Software Against Conficker Worm Download Links
• Avoid Santa Claus Worm While Celebrating Christmas
• Manual Clean Removal Instruction for Worm.Pabug.ck or Worm.Pabug.co
• Delete, Cancel and Terminate Facebook Account and Profile
• House Your Facebook Friends under One IM with Social.im
• Download Desktop Application Facebook Notifications 2 To Get Instant Facebook Notification Summary
• Link Up Facebook With Google, Yahoo or MySpace Account For Auto-Login
• Pre Schedule Status Update On Facebook With Sendible
• Facebook Announces New Site Design With Next-Generation Features, Feeds And Functionality

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 7:31 am and is filed under Security. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.