Facebook has been hit with a virus that could spread to its 120 million users. The virus has been dubbed “koobface”, which tries to gather personal information from users computers such as credit card numbers.

The virus dubbed “koobface” sends a message to all the friends of the infected titled “You look just awesome in this new movie”. Users who opened the messaged where asked to download a fake update for Adobe flash player, which was actually the virus itself being downloaded and installed onto victims computers. If users attempted to use any of the major three search engines such as Yahoo, Google, or Live search, users would be taken to contaminated sites.

All users are being asked to run their updated anti-virus scanners to check for potential contamination. Facebook has also posted a response to help users clean infected machines on their security web site.

The “koobface” hit MySpace in August, where users had a similar situation where the virus took over their computer. Researchers believe that this is not the last of the “knobface” virus we will see, but the hacker or hackers are improving it.

News Source: Neowin.net

Quote from Facebook friend Aaron Hall and sums up what some users are like on-line.  “Unfortunately, this one isn’t just a hoax, and while it should go without saying in this day and age that you shouldn’t just click every link you see, I always see many of you install apps and send out invites without discretion. Please take this opportunity to change that behavior.”

Finally it looks like Facebook and finally buckled on all the application invite requests and added a “Clear All” option

If your not sure then look at this screenshot from the Front Page.

Don’t you just love how Facebook has an application for everything possible? Don’t you just love wading through your friends’ Facebook profiles with the simple goal of finding their Wall? Don’t you just love how Facebook is looking more and more like MySpace every single day? Fear no more, the Facebook Platform Team has a plan to unclutter profiles: a “profile clean-up” tool. Essentially, the tool will give users the option to move extra profile boxes to an “extended portion” of their profile. At the bottom of the profile page there will be a link to “Show Extended Profile” which expands the profile for viewing all of the user’s applications. This should mean a cleaner look, and faster loading pages. Personally, I would much prefer a “hide all 3rd party crap” feature, but this move seems to be a step in the right direction.

News source: Neowin.net

My view: About bloody time I say. I have to use some client side scripting in Firefox to hide the junk on various profiles and even then there are one or two that are so cluttered that the scripting times out and briefly locks up the browser.

Fortinet Global Security Research Team discovered a malicious Facebook Widget (officially, a “Platform Application”) actively spreading on the social networking site which ultimately prompts users to install the infamous “Zango” adware/spyware.

Full article complete with screenshots here: http://www.fortiguardcenter.com/advisory/FGA-2007-16.html

Note: I too have been invited to install the formentioned “Secret Crush” application and thank god I decline such an invite like with every bit of tat that I get invited to install on my Facebook profile.

This application definitely a pile of crap to say the least in more way than one.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has urged employers to allow staff to continue to access social networking sites at work.

The TUC said that, while employers are within their rights to forbid staff from using sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Bebo in work time, a total ban is an over-reaction.

“Simply cracking down on the use of new web tools like Facebook is not a sensible solution to a problem which is only going to get bigger,” said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.

“It is unreasonable for employers to try to stop staff from having a life outside work, just because they cannot get their heads around the technology.

“Better to invest a little time in working out sensible conduct guidelines so that there do not need to be any nasty surprises for staff or employers.”

Article continues here: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2197747/ban-facebook-pleads-union

Experts are warning internet users to be more careful with their private information after secret code from the popular social-networking site Facebook was published on the internet.

This is the first time that some of the site’s secret operational code has been made public. Although it does not allow hackers to access private information directly, it could help criminals close in on personal data, according to one expert.

Nik Cubrilovic, of Techcrunch.com, said: “This leak is not good news for Facebook, as it raises the question of how secure a user’s private data really is. Facebook has become such a success and has such a high profile that it has become a magnet for attacks against its systems.”

The Facebook craze has been sweeping the world, and the site now has more than 30 million users, including 3.5 million in Britain. New users registering for a profile on the site usually publish their date of birth and home town for anybody to see, and in many cases let approved friends see more personal details such as their home address and telephone number. Though this information is semi-private, criminals who become “friends” with other users have the potential to find out much more information about them.

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/aug/13/internet