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Koobface

Vangie Beal
Vangie Beal
Updated on:
The name given to a computer worm that uses Facebook’s messaging system to infect PCs in an attempt to gather sensitive information such as credit card numbers.

Koobface propagates by sending notes to Facebook friends of someone whose PC has been infected. The messages, with subject headers like, “You look just awesome in this new movie,” direct recipients to a Web site where they are asked to download what it claims is an update of Adobe Systems Inc’s Flash player.

If they download the software, users end up with an infected computer, which then takes users to contaminated sites when they try to use search engines from Google, Yahoo, MSN and Live.com, according McAfee.

The Koobface virus also attacks users of the MySpace social networking site. Variants of the worm include Net-Worm.Win32.Koobface.a. and Net-Worm.Win32.Koobface.b.

See also “Facebook Hit With ‘Koobface’ Virus” on SmallBusinessComputing.com.

Vangie Beal
Vangie Beal
Vangie Beal is a freelance business and technology writer covering Internet technologies and online business since the late '90s.

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