ESET Threat Blog

As increasing sectors of the internet migrate to Facebook as a deployment platform (Zygna, etc.), a new effort aims to spread the preference aggregation features to include things users either own or would like to own. By allowing users to add “Own” and “Want” buttons to their profile, users can highlight both a “Wishlist” and … Read More…

A couple of weeks ago, some of my Facebook friends were putting up messages telling the world what was number one in the charts the day they were born and in some cases providing a link to a video. While it was depressing to realize how young so many of my friends were – I … Read More…

Tomorrow, on January 18, 2012, dozens of popular websites covering a diverse range of subjects will be blacking out their home pages in protest of the U.S. Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).  Some of these websites are well-known, such as the English language web site for the encyclopedic Wikipedia and quirky news site Boing Boing, … Read More…

If you use Facebook you've probably heard of Timeline, a "new" feature that replaces the "traditional" profile page. However, you may be confused by Timeline–I know I am–and confusion could make you the target of a growing number of Timeline-related scams. As of January 3rd, the watchful folks at Inside Facebook were reporting 16 Timeline-related … Read More…

…Or not.
Cheesecake Factory scams aren't new, but according to Facecrooks, there's an uptick today in rogue "Eat for Free at Cheesecake Factory!" wall posts. Sadly, there is still no such thing as a free lunch: it's a survey scam with no payoff. Well, not for you. The scammers seem to be doing quite nicely out … Read More…

We recently noted that the data broker industry, in conjunction with social media outlets will become increasingly relied upon as a kind of shadow credit score for judging candidates’ qualifications. Now we see a startup that uses your Facebook profile directly to determine a “credit score” used for microloans.
We hear horror stories of lost employment … Read More…

This article was written in collaboration with my colleague Jean-Ian Boutin.
The Wigon botnet (also known as Cutwail) is being used in a massive spam campaign. A multitude of ruses are used to get the user to click on a link: fake LinkedIn or Facebook notifications, free Windows licenses, fake deliveries etc. The links are pointing … Read More…

Danish security company CSIS have reported a worm that really does spread through Facebook, unlike some of the malware we've seen described in hoaxes recently. Peter Kruse tells us that the worm logs in as the owner of the infected system and spams messages to his or her friends. The message consists of a link … Read More…

The FTC has just announced its eight-count deception charge against Facebook has been settled, with the world's largest social network submitting to a wide array of remedies that include 20 years of privacy auditing and strict controls on how the company deals with your personal data in the future. In this post I will explain … Read More…

On the "old hoaxes never die" tack,it seems that last year's Christmas Tree App "virus" warning is circulating again: at any rate, Facecrooks has found it necessary to put a warning on its Facebook page against spreading it.
There is plenty of information available about this little beauty, so I'll just give you a few pointers:

Facecrooks … Read More…