Facebook users are allegedly receiving a message inviting them to open a link containing one of their photos: in reality it is a virus
A new threat has been discovered that risks endangering the data of millions of users. The alarm has been raised by the State Police, with a post published on the profile "Una vita da social", according to which a virus is targeting Facebook members.
According to the note, the malware is exploiting the same users of the social network to spread, using a trivial technique, and already seen in the past, which still manages to achieve its objectives. The victims, in fact, would be led to open, through a deceptive message, a link that refers to the virus. And as in a circle, once infected, the contact, without his knowledge, affects other users, among the circle of his friends. The message, which hides the threat, comes from the computer of one of the Facebook contacts previously affected by the virus and contains a text that more or less sounds like this: "I think it's you in this picture".
How the virus spreads
If the user clicks on the link that accompanies the message, here comes the trap: the virus is downloaded to the victim's PC and starts sending the same malicious content to all other contacts. And without the user knowing anything about it. What to do in such cases? The first action to put into practice, of course, is not to click on the link and then contact the friend from whom the message started. The user affected by the virus, suggests the Police, should change the password of the account and run a scan of the computer with an antivirus.
According to what written on "Una vita da social", a good idea would be to warn friends directly with a post, warning them not to open links sent in your name.