New Virus Targets Facebook,

MySpace and Twitter Users

IT Expert Offers Tips To Protect Your Network

From Social Network‐Based Bugs

Companies large and small are now using Facebook for networking and legitimate business tasks.  Unfortunately, it can also be a place to hook your company’s network up with some nasty viruses. 

The latest one, a worm called Koobface, has hit all the social networks, including Facebook, MySpace, hi5, Bebo and Twitter, and can riddle your network with malware, spyware and can steal sensitive data right from your workstations’ hard drives. Like past generations of computer bugs, Koobface wants to not only infect your computer, but then use you as a jumping off point to infect others. But unlike past viruses, Koobface and similar new malware programs are leveraging your company’s social network account to reach out and infect your

online friends and business associates. 

“Somewhere in the world there are some guys sitting around and dreaming up things that will make you click on a link,” said Jeff Olson, President of Computer Troubleshooters - Huntsville, the largest international network of outsourced IT providers that offers onsite computer services to small businesses. “Koobface’s most effective way to spread is to send links to your friends with text like “I can’t believe it’s you in this video – were you sober? LOL!” Koobface combines state‐of‐the‐art software which can infect your computer in multiple ways with these creative lures designed to make you want to click on the infected links. It’s pretty insidious.”

According to an analysis by malware research firm Trend Micro, Koobface is composed of as many as 26 separate functional pieces, each of which is designed to use you and your computer in different malicious ways.

Olson suggests these tips to protect your office network:

· Anti‐virus, Anti‐spyware First and foremost every computer user on the Internet needs professional, up‐to‐date protection software. This should at a minimum include both anti‐virus and antispyware support (some free packages do not include anti‐spyware), and ideally should also include a link scanner component to minimize the risk of visiting websites which are known to be infected.

· Claim your name, Check your fame If you are using social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook, do periodic searches for yourself. This is especially helpful with small businesses to see what people are saying about you, but if you’re infected you may find updates from yourself – which you never sent.

· Use a 3rd party Twitter application or your phone Third party applications such as Tweetdeck or Twhirl can help block certain exploits that would otherwise infect you from the Twitter website. They can also help by showing where a “shortened” URL will take you before you click. Using your cell phone for updates is also safer than using the Twitter or Facebook websites directly.

· Secure Your Browser Make sure your web browser is the most up‐to‐date version, since many vulnerabilities in older browsers (even ones from just a few months ago) are often used by malware creators to infect your computer. Chrome and Firefox are generally considered safer than Internet Explorer, but any browser with its security setting set to “High” and with the most recent updates should be fine. For the highest level of security consider using Firefox plus Noscript.net to block most potential points of vulnerability.

· Ask to Include Social Media protection in your IT Management Plan Many small businesses and home users today are outsourcing all their computer management to a local computer service provider through what’s called a Managed Services plan. Ask your local Computer Troubleshooter or other service provider to include social media protection in your computer management plan.

“If your IT department or outsourced support doesn’t take all those elements into account, it’s not a matter of if you’ll experience downtime – it’s a matter of when and for how long,” Olson said. “It’s not right to be held hostage by your computer troubles or by your IT support by proxy.  Uptime is not a luxury – it’s a necessity for any home or business. Make certain that your IT company  guarantees it. If they don’t, look for another firm.”

About Computer Troubleshooters

Computer Troubleshooters is the largest international network of franchise owners providing onsite computer services to small businesses. Celebrating its 12 years of service, Computer Troubleshooters now has more than 475 franchises worldwide in more than 24 countries. The company provides a comprehensive range of computer and technology solutions to small business owners (typically with 1 to 25 staff). Computer Troubleshooters helps companies with technology issues, problem prevention, virus and spyware remediation, website development and a wide variety of small business IT needs. The company offers the world's only "No‐Downtime‐Guarantee" on its top managed services plan. The individual franchisees of the company are fully trained at pinpointing and solving a broad range of computer and technology problems.