Facebook and Myspace virus steals game accounts

[Omar]

A virus has been infecting popular social networking sites MySpace and Facebook, tech experts said Thursday.

 

On Facebook, the virus is causing email messages to be sent to people on "friends" lists asking them to watch a video supposedly on YouTube. A user has to download what purports to be a plug-in to watch the video.

 

Tech expert Marc Saltzman said the plug-in is actually a virus.

 

The bogus email appears to come from a friend, he said.

 

"Even when you go to the fake site, it has their name and profile picture right on the site, so you really believe it," said Saltzman, a syndicated tech columnist who received several of these emails a few days ago.

 

"It's affecting what is, arguably, the most popular service among Canadian web surfers. To the best of my knowledge, we haven't really seen a Facebook virus of this magnitude yet," he said.

 

Security researcher Wayne Blackard said the virus is also infecting MySpace.

 

"I don't have any specific numbers, but I do expect that it will spread rapidly given the popularity of the social networks," said Blackard of Texas-based TippingPoint Technologies Inc.

 

On MySpace the virus is being spread when people contact friends.

 

Blackard said social networking sites are going to become increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks due to their popularity.

 

"The implicit trust built into the social circle of friends and the willingness to share information with those in the circle will only the help the social engineering attacks to succeed," he said in an email.

 

It's difficult to identify the perpetrators, Blackard said, but the intent seems to be to deliver malware such as spam. Then additional malware can be installed to capture "many types of sensitive information," he added.

 

Facebook, a privately held company based in Palo Alto, Calif., wasn't immediately available for comment on Thursday.

 

Tech experts say computers must have up-to-date antivirus software to help prevent such attacks.

 

The virus has been noted by several websites, including Saltzman's blog on MSN, tech blog Pocket-lint and by anti-virus software companies Sophos, Symantec and Kaspersky.

 

Symantec, maker of Norton AntiVirus software, has identified the fake Flash player update as a trojan called gampass.

 

"What this trojan does is it tries to steal a person's online gaming credentials," said Marc Fossi, manager of development for security response at Symantec in Calgary.

 

"What they can do with these stolen gaming accounts is sell them online," he said. "It would steal your user name and password and send it back to whoever is sending this thing out."

 

Money can be made from selling the account information, which usually includes blocks of playing time, and it can be made from selling coveted characters from certain games, he added.

 

Fossi said this can happen if a user is trying to log on to a gaming account on his computer and wouldn't affect signing into an XBox Live account.

 

He also said the same caution that users apply to email attachments is needed on social networking sites.

 

"I think that people need to treat these social networking programs just like any other website ... Don't give that implicit trust to everything that you see there. You've really got to make sure that your computer is protected."

 

From http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/C ... OttawaHome

[Gravy]

Wow, reminds me of that old TIF pm virus going around.

 

 

 

Just goes to show, you've gotta watch out for messages even from your friends now, even though it's not them, technically.

[Sy_Accursed]

Wow that reminds me show moronic some people are.

 

 

 

Firstly if you have these people on your friend lsits on profiles sites your an attention [bleep] and deserve virus tbh

 

 

 

Secondly if you dumb enough to think you need to download something to watch videos on youtube aside from flash player you deserve viruses

 

 

 

Thirdly if you see the link doesn't even go to youtube and you still look your a moron.

[Dragon_lord]

How hard is it to determine whether an e-mail was actually sent to you by your friend or is an automated message sent under a friend's name?

 

And since when did anyone had to download anything to be able to watch a YouTube video? The fact that you're asked to download something to watch it should have been enough to make people suspicious...

 

Mneh, viruses of any kind can be avoided if you're just careful. Use a good Anti-Virus program, maybe even download a couple of protective add-ons (like WOT for Firefox users). Other than that, just use your head before clicking on a link and you'll be fine.

[The Observer]

All users, even if you don't use Facebook or Myspace, should be careful. As, if you have a friend who got the virus from there and they try and send you the same video they had, they may unknowingly transfer the virus to you.

[Zaaps1]

Eh? So they hack into my friend's list on facebook and send me a scam email?

[Den]

Im just glad i play runescape on one pc where i never download anything, and have a different pc for all the other stuff.

 

 

 

Should still be carefull though. :uhh:

[Atroxide]

any [developmentally delayed] that is active on myspace deserves a worm imo.

[danelennon]

Thirdly if you see the link doesn't even go to youtube and you still look your a moron.

 

 

 

Well myspace changes any link that you post so that it is routed through 'msplinks' when you hover over it. Then it loads up a splash page, but most people are probably too busy trying to find where to click to get past it to actually bother glancing at the link. Why trust things that your friends have sent you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having said that, I never do. If one of my friends sent me a link to a website that I don't trust or haven't heard of then I generally refuse to click it. Even then, most of my friends are computer literate and smart enough to get hit by anything in the first place.

[reaper88888]

Yet one more reason for me to not use those sites... :roll: I never really understood how those things became popular, they seem like even more of a 'life waster' than games like RS..

[pulli23]

Thirdly if you see the link doesn't even go to youtube and you still look your a moron.

 

 

 

Well myspace changes any link that you post so that it is routed through 'msplinks' when you hover over it. Then it loads up a splash page, but most people are probably too busy trying to find where to click to get past it to actually bother glancing at the link. Why trust things that your friends have sent you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having said that, I never do. If one of my friends sent me a link to a website that I don't trust or haven't heard of then I generally refuse to click it. Even then, most of my friends are computer literate and smart enough to get hit by anything in the first place.

 

really clicking a link won't do anything!

 

 

 

it first comes up with "where do you want to store this virus?". - And even then it isn't RUN: you actually have to open it to let the virus do anything!

 

 

 

nothing can be run outside the sandbox of the browser that easily! (at least with firefox, I have no experience with IE at all).

[Sy_Accursed]

factor in that any remotely good spyware remover and or virus remover will be like woooah hold up this is a virus! when u clikc the link to download

 

 

 

And for other silly people profile sites are popular because they help you keep in touch with people you may not normally (well if u use them properly anyway) eg me and all my friends are scattered the city, and various towns and villages in about a 20 - 30mile radius from the city. Quite simply without profile sites we wouldn't all stay in touch half as much as we do.

[Dragon_lord]

Eh? So they hack into my friend's list on facebook and send me a scam email?

 

No, they just use your friend's name/e-mail adress to send you an automated message containing the virus.

[Roberthree]

any [developmentally delayed] that is active on myspace deserves a worm imo.

 

 

 

 

 

Yea. And any woman who goes outside in a short skirt deserves to be raped.

 

 

 

EVERYBODY, ITS THAT TIME AGAIN: BLAME... THE.... VICTIM!

 

 

 

Ok first question: If someone mugs jeff, who's fault is it?

 

A: Its his own fault for not being strong enough to beat up the mugger

 

Correct! One point to you.

[Cup Lion]

I don't download plug-ins at all, especially for youtube.

[Will H]

This is one of the thousands of reasons I don't bother with social networking sites.

[nightzero]

any [developmentally delayed] that is active on myspace deserves a worm imo.

 

 

 

 

 

Yea. And any woman who goes outside in a short skirt deserves to be raped.

 

 

 

EVERYBODY, ITS THAT TIME AGAIN: BLAME... THE.... VICTIM!

 

 

 

Ok first question: If someone mugs jeff, who's fault is it?

 

A: Its his own fault for not being strong enough to beat up the mugger

 

Correct! One point to you.

 

You sir, win. its pathetic how so many people bash myspace and facebook. i use it to talk with friends, meet new people etc. my time to waste. so gtfo haters.

[Star_Fox]

ANYONE with an Email account should know how worms\trojans can be transferred. i'm not trying to sound frank, but this is pretty much old news.

[child_sycopath]

Does sound like you've got to be pretty stupid to download somthing like that for youtube, I've always been cautious of downloads. Very Cautious!

[Wallettheif]

People actually still use that [cabbage]?

[Master_Smither]

Gf Pwnt stupid people who think downloading is for youtube. I don't even download anything except maybe Java/Flash these days. But seriously why even use My Space and Facebook? I never got why my buds do it I always found them to be predator central.

[ilya]

Seriously if you don't have any friends to talk to on social network sites, don't bash people that do.

 

Same thing as if you don't have a level 99 Runecrafting don't call people nerds and idiots just because they do.

 

 

 

P.S. And I don't want to see people quoting this post and telling me their life story about how they have hundreds of friends and a job and a hot girlfriend. I don't anyone cares and everybody knows it's most likely a lie.

[doomy]

Bebo ftw

[Runeman231]

Wow that reminds me show moronic some people are.

 

 

 

Firstly if you have these people on your friend lsits on profiles sites your an attention [bleep] and deserve virus tbh

 

 

 

Secondly if you dumb enough to think you need to download something to watch videos on youtube aside from flash player you deserve viruses

 

 

 

Thirdly if you see the link doesn't even go to youtube and you still look your a moron.

 

 

 

Wow way to jump on the offensive. You cant blame people for pure ignorance and insulting such people isnt going to do anything... :roll:

[highlanders]

I have a myspace account, but only to put comments on myspacetv videos : I don't understand why people use these websites, especially those that say all their personal details, even the school they're going to. I'd just go with a livejournal or blogspot if I wanted to do something like that, not as interactive, but atleast it's not full of creepy people.