How to Avoid Facebook Viruses and Spam Messages
With millions of users, Facebook provides an accessible and diverse interface to hit an unsuspecting crowd with malware and viruses. However, Facebook viruses can be easy to catch if you know what to look for. The typical Facebook virus may first appear to be an innocent post or message from a friend. In reality, the virus targets Facebook users' curiosity and interest in bizarre or eye-catching stories and videos, requiring a user to "Like" the post or update an app before continuing on to the interesting post. Once the user has clicked on the link, it is too late and the next step will be getting rid of your Facebook virus. To prevent dealing with time-consuming Facebook virus removal procedures, try to avoid spam messages and trojan viruses in the first place.
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Instructions
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Read and think before you click. Viruses on Facebook are sneaky. The hackers and cybercriminals who want your information know that Facebook users will often click on an interesting post without a moment's thought. If a post sounds a bit over-the-top like a headline out of a tabloid, this is your first warning sign.
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Watch for poor grammar and enticing keywords like "funniest ever," "most hilarious video on Facebook," or "you've got to see this." Do some keyword research to see if the post in question comes up in a search engine with information about a current virus or trojan.
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Look to see who is posting the suspicious content. If you receive a message from someone you do not know, this is an obvious red flag. Scammers often infiltrate the Facebook network and appear as a friend when they really are not. Facebook video viruses also tend to pop up in your news feed or on your wall from friends you haven't talked to in awhile. Unfortunately, it's likely this friend has already fallen victim to the latest virus on Facebook. After clicking on the story themselves, the message was sent out to all of their friends as well.
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Avoid messages that have been posted by multiple users as the virus spreads among your friends who were not so cautious. If the "Sexiest video ever" shows up all over your feed from all kinds of people (perhaps friends you would not expect to make such a post), this is another warning sign. Similar direct messages are a likely variant of the notorious Facebook Koobface virus which has used this approach in the past.
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Keep an eye open for posts that claim to post shocking videos or pictures of you or anyone else. While it's very feasible that someone really posted and tagged you in a crazy recent photo, consider the person posting it and whether the description sounds reasonable. If someone you don't know very well claims to be posting the "most embarrassing picture of you at that party" and you are not much of a party-goer, this should seem a little strange.
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Watch out for the common virus warning signs. Malware links frequently just look scammy, with pixellated text and poor graphics. If you have to click "like" or download a suspicious looking app before you can view the supposedly "awesome and life-changing" post, close your browser and get out of there.
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Do not fall for the "typical" money-transfer schemes. Chat messages from friends needing funds will usually sound suspicious. Everything can't be screened before posting, so money transfer scams and hoax applications still find their way on to Facebook. You should also avoid applications that claim to do a full "Error check" or fix security problems related to your profile.
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Remove scammy messages that are posted to your wall or news feed to stop the chain of infection. You can also click on the choice to "Mark as spam" before deleting the post.
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Update your anti-virus software frequently. If you do accidentally click on a post before realizing it is a hoax, do not click on any further links or downloads. If it's too late and you have already been infected, the Facebook virus removal process may be effortless if you have a good anti-virus program to catch the virus, trojan or other malware early on.
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