Facebook virus alert: Worm hidden in image of two blondes

Summary: A new worm is spreading on Facebook: once downloaded, it tempts the user into opening it by masquerading as a screensaver with a thumbnail image of two blonde women.

A new piece of malware is spreading across Facebook by leveraging either stolen account credentials or possibly a rogue app. This one is a worm that is being shared via malicious links on the social network, according to the Danish website CSIS.

If one of your Facebook friends has had his or her account compromised, you may be tempted to click on a link seemingly posted by them. What appears to be a screensaver, with a thumbnail image of two blonde women, will be downloaded onto your computer.

This is in fact a worm: do not download it and do not open it. If you think you have been affected, please read Facebook virus or account hacked? Here?s how to fix it.

When the file is opened, it attempts to download further malware, including a popular Trojan called Zeus. This type of malware can take over your computer and/or attempt to steal your banking information.

The malware?s code is written in Visual Basic 6.0 and includes ways of tricking users on virtual machines. The source appears to be a compromised Israeli website, which is no longer hosting the file in question. Still, hackers can always use additional websites to continue spreading their malware.

As a general word of caution, don?t click on everything your Facebook friends share on the social network. I have contacted Facebook to learn if it has blocked any unusual activity related to this latest worm and if it has any more information to offer.

See also:

• French Facebook phishing scam: 5,000 accounts compromised
• Facebook Help Center Community Forum overrun with spam
• Facebook virus or account hacked? Here?s how to fix it.
• Facebook identifies those behind coordinated spam attack
• Researchers invade Facebook with socialbots, grab 250GB of data
• Facebook Immune System checks 25 billion actions every day

Emil Protalinski has covered the tech industry for five years for multiple publications.

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Biography

Emil Protalinski

Emil Protalinski has covered the tech industry for five years for multiple publications, including Neowin for two years and Ars Technica for three years. He has written 1,000s of articles for both, with a particular focus on scrutinizing Microsoft products and services. Recently, Emil has expanded his coverage to non-Microsoft technologies, including the social networking giant Facebook.

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