Computer Support for Facebook Color Viruses

Have you ever seen the same old links to cute animal pictures or funny videos being passed around on Facebook over and over again? It seems like the same posts that were popular a few years ago will disappear for a while and then make a comeback out of nowhere. Just like every other part of history, the social media past seems to come in cycles as well. This is even true for viruses.

Just take the Facebook profile color virus. It was popular a few years ago and it has reared its ugly head once again. A recent news report out of San Francisco and featured in USA Today on August 13, indicates that people are falling for the scam again.

The Fake Profile Changer

It looks innocent enough. You log on to Facebook and one of your friends has posted something that says “You can customize your Facebook profile with this color changer.” Facebook is pretty boring compared to old social media, like Myspace and there are only so many ways you customize it. So, when you see that link, you think it sounds like a great idea. You can pick your favorite color for your Facebook profile.

The problem is, this doesn’t actually work. You cannot change the color of your Facebook page. When you click on the link, you are taken to a website that shows you a tutorial video on how to change your Facebook profile. When you click on that video link, you unwittingly download viruses to your computer. Some of these scams don’t even ask you to click on a link. Instead, they will attempt to download a pornography video that is laden with viruses onto your machine directly.

Once the file has been downloaded in one way or another, your computer will be infected and this will give hackers access to your information, like login details, financial information, your pictures, and everything else. They will be able to steal your identity, possibly turn on your webcam and spy on you, and much more.

Avoiding the Problem

This is an easy virus to avoid, and if you get computer help, you will know what to look for as well. To begin with, know that a lot of the links supposedly shared on Facebook were not shared by your friends at all. Instead, once a virus was on their computer, hackers had access to their Facebook and the link was put on their newsfeed. It’s best not to click on anything strange you see on social media sites at all.

You need to ensure you have quality antivirus software on your machine, and a computer support company can help you install it. This way, if a website tries to download something, the software will usually catch and block it.

Finally, you need to avoid any website that tries to auto download something. Unless you specifically chose to download a file, you should be very wary of websites that start the process all on their own. This is a method that many hackers use to get viruses on your machine.

If you need computer support or you are looking for a computer repair company to help you avoid viruses like this, then Dave’s Computers can assist you today.

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