Worm Facebook: How To Avoid

By: John Lester
Staff Writer
Published: Jun 5, 2010

Worm Facebook - How to avoid online. The worm uses a clickjacking technique that collects information on hundreds of thousands of social networking users on Facebook. Facebook's social networking website was attacked last weekend with post spam messages on their profiles.

Clickjacking has rapidly spread through the social network by luring victims into a trap through catchy news headlines. This Web attack technique involves hijacking mouse clicks on a page and using them to trigger unauthorized actions. It is technically known as user interface (UI) redressing because it hides a clickable object, by making it transparent and superimposing it over a non-dangerous looking one.

When Facebook users click on the text that appears to be "liked" they are taken to a blank page that just has the text, "Click here to continue." Clicking anywhere on that page will then publish the same message to that users Facebook page. This vector is extremely similar to the Fbhole worm that spread across Facebook ten days ago.

Worms are spread through the user's social graph because recipients receive trusted messages from their friends. This is not a new technique. However, it was only brought to the public's attention last year when security researchers Jeremiah Grossman and Robert Hansen disclosed some critical attacks based on it. One included ill-intent hackers to turn on a computer's Web camera and microphone by exploiting a bug in the Flash Player Settings Manager.

Filed Under: Technology News - Worm Facebook.