Has ClickJacking Hit Facebook Again?

Yesterday (March 7, 2011) I received messages from two of my friends in Facebook. I checked one and it says "Hey what are you doing in this video?..." followed by a link that, appears to be, to another page in Facebook. When I clicked it however, I got an error page. I checked the other one and it says the same. I suspected that it was a form of malware, so I asked my friends regarding the messages, at least one said she did not send any message to me.

A few hours later, I logged in again and got the same message again from eight different persons who had never sent a message to me before. I noticed this time that the links-- that all starts with facebook.com -- are quite different. So I thought this could be a worm or another form of malware. I Googled for information and found out that a similar attack happened sometime in 2010.


In 2010, it was an exploit of a vulnerability of  Facebook in which it tricks the users to click on a link to page where apparently will 'like' a page without the user's knowledge.

Read the details here and here.

I found no updated information about this recent 'clickjacking' yet, but it is obviously not the first time that it happened in Facebook and probably not the last.

Just a word of caution, if your friend sent you a link and would look suspicious, at least ask your friend first if he/she really had sent that message and take extra precaution in opening any links.

Have a Safer computing.

Today’s Tip For Safer Computing: Scan Your Computer With Malware Remover

Today’s Tip For Safer Computing: Scan Your Computer With Malware Remover

Technically  virus is a kind of malware, or malicious software. Not all malware are virus. Malware can be a virus, a worm, a trojan horse, (see:
Difference between A Virus, A Worm, A Trojan Horse and Malware)
or ad-ware, spy-ware or any forms of programs or scripts that was made with malicious intent - from merely annoyance, ID/Password theft to corrupt a whole operating system. 


Unfortunately anti-virus software are primarily designed to look for computer viruses. Even though some have the features of detecting common malware, they are not enough to detect most if not all malware or even repair the damage done by these rouge software or remove them entirely from a computer system.

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Today’s Tip For Safer Computing: Malware removers are capable of not just detecting and removing malwares but also repair the registry and remove scripts and other residual files that may bring back the malware to your computer.

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Today’s Tip For Safer Computing: Do Full System Scan Regularly

“I already have a good antivirus that works well on my computer and I now update it regurlaly, So I don’t have to worry about any virus getting into my computer.”

WRONG!  In my previous post (See:  Tip for Safer Computing: Update your Anti-virus Definition Regularly), I mentioned there that new virus or variations of existing virus pop-up almost every minute and recommended that your anti-virus definition file should be updated regularly.

However it would take at least days or even weeks for an anti-virus to create a solution after a new virus comes out. So before it does, and you always go online, there are chances that a new virus could infect your computer without your anti-virus program detecting it.

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Safer Computing Tip: Run a full System Scan every after you manually update your antivirus definition file

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The best way to protect your computer is to run a full system scan after you manually update the antivirus definition file. Doing a full system scan enables your antivirus program scan sections of your drives that are normally not scanned by the automatic scan (also known as passive scan- usually scans your hard drive’s system  folder and root folder only, it also scans a folder only when you access it).

Full system scans all folders including hidden folders and system folders that are normally cannot be accessed or even seen by the users. These are the areas where virus /malwares usually hide.

Have a safer computing.

Tip for Safer Computing: Update your Anti-virus Definition Regularly

Today's Tip for Safer Computing: Update your Antivirus Definition Regularly

Yesterday's tip for safer computing was Get the Right Anti Virus. Now assuming that you already have a good anti-virus installed, the question to ask yourself is, "How often should I update my virus definition file?"

Having a the right anti-virus installed in your computer does not guarantee a long term protection against computer virus or any other malware. New virus and variants of the existing virus pop-up almost every minute and if you are always connected online, chances are high that a virus or a malware will contaminate your computer. To minimize this, you must regularly update your Antivirus or the virus definition file

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Safer Computing Note: Virus Definition File- is the file that contains the list of known viruses, their signatures and even how they behave. This is used by your anti-virus program to identify if a virus or a malware on your computer. Hence, your antivirus will catch only virus that are listed on the definition file or some of their variants.

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"How often should I update my antivirus definition file?"
For Online Computers - if your computer is always online, chances are your antivirus program updates this file regularly. If you want to know how often your anti-virus program updates, leave a comment here and tell me what anti-virus program and version you are using and I'll try to help you find out.

Once A Week Update - normally if you're not connected online all the time, you should update your antivirus definition file for at least once a week. If your computer is not really connected to the Internet, use an antivirus that allows you to download an update file from their site so you can update your computer offline.

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Have a safer computing.

Are You Exposed to the Social Networking Risks?

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter were intendd to connect as many users as possible through their sites. Facebook, since 2009 have reached more than 300 million users. Twitter reported to get as at least 55 million visitors a month.

These social networking giants not only attracted the millions of regular people to connect to their sites, but these huge numbers have attracted cyber-predators as well. As a result, security and privacy related stories and issues have plagued these social network leaders. Frequently, they were criticized for lack of the lack of security and user information privacy control.

How to Prevent Autorun from Running: Right Click for Safety

Autorun which is supposed to be a valid windows service. It automatically launches a file once a flash-disk  or a CD/DVD is inserted. However this service has been exploited by work makers. These days, one of the most common carriers of malware are the flash disks or USB disk. When your flash disk is infected and you insert it ina computer, it will run the malware, put a part of it in the memory, create copies of it in the local drive(s) and wait for another flash disk to be inserted and contaminate, then the cycle starts again. (Read the details about Autorun.inf here).

One way to stop Autorun from running is messing with the registry. Many of you however don't want to do this for various reasons. So an alternative to stop autorun from running every time you insert your flash disk is HOW you insert your flash disk and HOW you open.

What to do when task manager is disabled: Press F1 for Help

An acquaintance asked me to check what’s wrong with her laptop. When I opened it, at first Vista seems to start just fine … until it reached the part that the task bar, program menu and the rest of the desktop items should have appeared. It did not!

I tried to open the task manager by doing the three finger salute (pressing ctrl-alt-delete)… Viola! Task manager was disabled! A mal-ware infection!

Usually I could open the Windows explorer from the task manager by opening up a local drive from there, but now the task manager is disabled! Naturally I wouldn’t risk inserting my flash drive with all my utilities in it to a computer with yet unknown level of threat. Question is what should I do next? Format the hard drive? Hmm.. My Bart’s P.E. is not with me. At least I should be able to make a backup before I format the whole drive…

First I need to find a way to open System Restore! However the Desktop is blank, Task bar and start menu is disabled! Task Manager is disabled! At that moment I can’t think of any other way of opening the Windows Explorer! I thought I really need to format the thing… or I just need a little help.

Safer Computing Utility: Malware Bytes

The number of malware continue to grow everyday. Some versions are now even capable of disabling an anti-malware program, rendering it useless. I happen to have encountered this kind of malware and I had no choice at the time but to reformat (no critical data on that unit anyway).

Today, updated anti-malware are more effective against such attacks. One of the anti-malware program that I often use is MalwareBytes.

Safer Computing- How to avoid being hacked.

I've heard a number of people complained about their social networking account, e-mail, online game account and other online accounts being hacked. Does this mean that there are 'hackers' that will go after your account? Unless you are doing a lot of online transactions or you are an CEO of a large company, then you are a possible target of real hackers.

But how come somebody hacked your account? Changed your e-mail, instant messaging passwords? Or someone defiled  your social networking site profile? Or you lost your online game cash and/or rare items? The possibility is you logged into any of your online account using a public computer like an internet cafe's. Here is a list of some possibilities that almost ordinary people can get your password and hack into your account and how to avoid them specially when using a public computer.

1. Do Not check the Keep Me logged In  Almost all online log-in forms these days have this Keep me logged in check box. Use this only if you are using your own computer but never in a public computer. This option will keep your account logged in even if you have closed the browser, unless you have logged out manually.

Safer Computing: Protect your PC With the Latest Kaspersky Anti-Virus

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 - Protect your PC year with an expert antivirus solution specially created for home users.
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 – the backbone of your PC’s security system, offering real-time automated protection from a range of IT threats.

Key Features

• Real-time protection against viruses and spyware Improved!
• Scanning of websites and emails for malicious code Improved!
• Protection for your digital identity at all times Improved!
• Vulnerability scan and treatment advice
• Easy-access Desktop gadget New!

Protect Your Self From Fake AV and Other Scams and Hoaxes

Intro: This is still part of my (now has become a series of posts) fake anti-virus posts. This time I'm recommending K9 (not the dog) for your protection.

One of the most effective utility I have found and have been using for years is the K9 Web Protection. Not only I use to block those pornographic sites (Good for parents). It can also help protect you from accidentally downloading those fake anti-virus and other hoaxes.

Safer computing: How to Avoid Fake Anti-Virus.

My last post was about How to Detect and Avoid Fake Anti-Virus. Of course detecting it and identifying is the first step in avoiding it. The authors of these malicious software however are very tricky. And one of their ploys is tricking you in installing their malware while making you believe you have cancelled the installation.

Now let's take a look at some of their tricks.

1. Warning Messages. - fake anti-virus would pop up messages that would warn you that your computer is at risk or under attack by viruses. Other variations will tell you that your system needs an update.

Which Antivirus Software should I use? (Tips for choosing anti-virus program for you)

There are lots of Anti-virus software these days and it's quite confusing which to choose from. Before you take out your credit card and buy one, I made this check list for you.

Recommended tool: CCleaner

Lately a colleague  of mine referred to me that the Mozilla Firefox in his laptop slows down after a while. So I scanned it with an anti-virus software, then used Malwarebytes to clean it for malwares. It was easy enough, found and cleaned a number of malwares from the system. When I tried it online, it was faster than before, sure enough, however, about ten minutes later, browsing seems to have slowed down to a snail-pace-pulling-the-Titanic!