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Jul 07

Suspicious Facebook app may be spam launch pad

Posted By Tracy
Jul 07, 2010 / 10:07
1

A suspicious application circulating on Facebook has attracted nearly 300,000 fans whose profiles could be used as launching pads for spam, according to a security analyst.

The application, called “I will NEVER text again,” lures Facebook users by offering a video, said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for security vendor Sophos. When someone clicks on a link advertising the application, the application asks for permission to access their basic information and post to their Wall.

If a user grants permission, the link is then posted to the user’s Wall and goes out in the person’s news feed, which then gets read by other friends and potentially added to their profiles, Cluley said.

So far the application hasn’t done anything malicious, and many Facebook applications ask for the same access to a person’s information and Wall. But it has some suspicious characteristics. Although it promises a video, the video does not work, Cluley said.

FULL STORY: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9178886/Suspicious_Facebook_app_may_be_spam_launch_pad

Comments

Bruce Williamson July 07, 2010 13:15

The app’s page has been taken down. At least it doesn’t appear in searches for the app.

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