Facebook Virus (Worm) Solution (Removal)

Liz Belmonde from Valenzuela City emailed this question last night:

"Dear TechPinas, my PC is acting up. Small windows are popping up fast, causing system freeze! :( This is after I clicked on a video link that a friend sent me via Facebook mail. What should I do? Help me, please."

Hi Liz! Looks like your PC has been infected by the Koobface virus or Koobface worm:

"Koobface" prompts you to update your Flash player before the video can be displayed. Therein lies the virus, cloaked in a "flash_player.exe" file. According to the Kaspersky Lab, an antivirus organization working closely with Facebook, "the worms transform victim machines into zombie computers to form botnets."

Here's what you should do, according to Facebook:

Steps You Should Take

If spam has been sent from your account:

• Reset your Facebook password immediately. You can do this by clicking on the "Forgot Your Password" link on the login page or by going to the Account Setttings page once logged in.
• If you can't reset the password on your account because the email address you use to log in has been changed, or if your account has been disabled, contact our User Operations team.
• Run a virus scan on your computer, as you may have inadvertently downloaded malware. Free virus scanners are posted below.

If you've seen spam sent from a friend's account:

• Tell your friend to follow the steps above.
• Warn those who received the spam not to click on it, and to delete it from their Walls and Inboxes immediately.

Free Online Virus Scanners

If spam has been sent from your account, you should immediately run a virus scan using one of these sites:

• http://www.kaspersky.com/virusscanner
• http://security.symantec.com
• http://us.mcafee.com/root/mfs/scan.asp?affid=56
• http://www.bitdefender.com/scan8
• http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm
• http://ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx
• http://www.ewido.net/en/onlinescan
• http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/solutions/activescan

Support for your Computer

If your Windows PC or Mac has been infected with malware or a virus, check out these helpful sites:

• http://www.microsoft.com/security/default.mspx
• http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

You may also want to check out OpenDNS. OpenDNS is a free security service that will help protect you from phishing scams on Facebook, and while browsing the Internet:

• https://www.opendns.com/homenetwork/start/?src=fb

FAQs

If you want to know more about security and Facebook, check out our Help Center.

Goodluck!

[photo courtesy of News.com.au,
support info courtesy of Facebook]

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