Facebook Fan Check virus: a collateral threat

Posted by kent on September 8th, 2009

Rumors abound that a Facebook app called Fan Check is a nasty piece of malware. While the jury is still out on whether this app is actually dangerous, viruses are still being spread because of it. It seems that makers of scareware (fake anti-virus programs that dupe you into downloading more malware) are profiting due to searches for "Facebook Fan Check Virus." Scared Facebook users are going to sites that purport to remove the virus, only to find they end up with more problems than they started with.

It's only natural that people turn to search engines to find out about viruses. Unfortunately it's also only natural that cybercriminals turn to searches on these viruses to spread other viruses. It's an ugly world.

Our most recent Internet security software tests happened before this scareware campaign began, but we've definitely encountered our fair share of fake anti-virus sites. Trend Micro's Internet security software proved to be incredibly vigilant in alerting us to the fake sites.

If you're looking for information on the latest threats, we suggest using the resources provided by your Internet security software provider. Almost all ISS companies provide a database of known threats. You can usually access this directly through the security software's interface. Or you can go directly to the site of the Internet security software provider.

As always, make sure you have Internet security software installed and all your virus definitions are up-to-date. You can check out our reviews and ratings of Internet security software, including the latest on the 2010 products here.