How to Protect Yourself from Viruses on Facebook
Facebook has a huge user base. The vast majority of those people are average users, who aren't as aware of the dangers lurking on Facebook. That makes it a very juicy target for scammers and malware distributors. Viral scams are all over Facebook, but they can be hard to avoid if you don't know what you're looking for. If you've got friends and family members who could use a little extra help, send them over to FaceCrooks.com. This is a blog which keeps tabs on scams which are spreading on the social networking site. Knowing which "OMG, Watch this video!" posts actually came from friends and which ones are the results of a scam is an important step in protecting your privacy and data on Facebook, after all. So here is my suggestion to you all just to have a safe & happy browsing over Facebook. So, here we go…
Keep these following things in mind to have a safe Facebook browsing.
· Never ever copy and paste codes into your browser's address bar unless you're very much confident the source is legit & secure.
· Always keep your web browser up to date.
· Never forget to report anything weird that you see on Facebook using the "report" links in the social network.
· If something that pops up on your Wall, News Feed or in a message seems suspicious or too good to be true, it probably is. Hit "report" to be safe, or just ignore it.
· Beware of Fake Facebook Fundraising Campaigns using “Likes” & “Shares”.
· Please take the ITRC Survey to help with Facebook related ID Theft Issues.
· There are 150,000 reasons why you should not share with ‘Friends of Friends’ on Facebook.
·“99% 0f People can’t even watch this video for More Than 25 Secs.” This is a Facebook scam. Avoid this kind of links.
· U.S. Attacks Iran and Saudi Arabia. F***: The Begin of World War 3? This is a virus Alert!
· Facebook Now Has a Dislike button! – It’s a Facebook Scam.
· See what Happened to his Ex-Girlfriend! – Facebook Scam [Video]
· Become Invisible to Hackers with PRIVATE Wi-Fi!
· Switch to Pink Facebook (Limited Time!) – Facebook Scam
· You should NOT install ‘Fun & Entertaining’ Facebook applications.
· OMG in 2012 I will [random act] find out what will happen to you in 2012 NOW – Facebook Scam.
Keep these things in mind and always think before you do. Else there are risks ahead.
Some more to the list…
Examine carefully and ask yourself: The most recent of such scams was a video called – ‘this is without doubt the sexiest video ever! ‘. This case gives you a lot of embarrassment and worse – harm to your computer. The sexiest video scam appeared as a video on your Facebook wall if any of your friends fall victim to it.Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself, whenever in doubt (note how these easily help you identify the video in question as a scam. Has the video, link or the post been posted by someone you know? If not, stay away from it. Did one your friends posted the video? Is it a surprise that "this" friend posted such a video? If you are surprised, most likely your friend has fallen victim to one of these scams, so stay away! Does the link, post or video behave suspiciously? If you clicked on the video in our example — it will take you to an application page, that requests you to allow access to your profile and friend list before you are allowed view the video. That right there is a big, “NO”. Should you really be required to give access to your profile just to view a video? Absolutely not.
Knowledge is Power: Having information about what is happening on Facebook can help you stay away from scams and pranks like these. An excellent way to do so is by visiting Facebook Security. You can also click on the Like button, which should let you view the updates in your stream. The Facebook Security page has excellent content on the recent threats, scams and pranks going about on Facebook. It also from time to time lists external resources on online safety and privacy that can prove helpful and add to your knowledge as well. Also, do check out some of our posts about Facebook security, privacy.
Don’t blindly trust anyone: You can never be sure that it is really your friend who sent you a message or posted on your wall. If something seems out of the ordinary, you better be alert. Recently, there has been a lot of hype about Facebook privacy controls and the way Facebook shares your personal information with other sites. While that might be a topic of discussion for another day, it goes to show how important each and every update that you make, each friend request you accept or each link that you click on Facebook is. The clichéd “With great powers, come great responsibilities” could never fit Facebook better than now. The present situation and tremendous popularity also requires you to keep an eye out for scams, pranks and malicious intents.
Hope these tips make your Facebook experience a little safer. If you have anything to share, we would be more than happy to hear them in comments! Thank you and happy & safe browsing…
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