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Social Media Virus Warning

Bitdefender released a report this morning warning all Facebook users against clicking on a video of a woman that appears to be undressing. According to the security firm, clicking on the video will lead to the downloading of a virus that will take over any system. This virus is particularly bad, since most people do not consider Facebook videos to be harmful (which is also why the virus is entirely effective).

What the Video Looks Like

The video that Bitdefender is warning about today looks a lot like any other YouTube video you might see in your Facebook feed. You will see a clip of a woman’s body from the waist down, and the video entices viewers to click on the link to see the woman undressing completely. Once viewers click on the link, they will be brought to the actual video clip – the clip does play for a few minutes to really trick people.

In the meantime, the virus will take over Chrome, Firefox, or other browsers. After the virus has taken over, the bug will start posting random messages to a user’s Facebook feed, and it is not possible to delete the posts when a computer has become infected. The bug also tags friends in posts, and these cannot be deleted either.

A Shortened URL

Usually, it’s fairly easy to notice a video that contains a virus because the video’s link looks suspicious. However, the hackers that have created this video have shortened the video’s link using bit.ly, so you can’t see the odd URL. The hackers have also created a fake number that appears next to the video, so it looks like millions of people have watched the video already. Once the virus has been activated, it’s not possible to stop the attack. Facebook has been notified, but the virus is still floating around various feeds (at the time of this writing).

The only way to make sure that this Facebook virus does not impact your system is to avoid clicking on any YouTube-like video that includes a woman undressing. It’s also a good idea to simply avoid clicking on any video that appears in your feed unless you know where that video is coming from. If you do see random postings from a friend that don’t make sense, you can be fairly certain that your friend’s system was infected with this virus too, so do keep that in mind as well.

Not the First

This is not the first Facebook virus, but it’s one that most people don’t suspect. So, make sure that you aren’t clicking on any strange videos through the social network, or simply try to avoid Facebook altogether (which might be a better plan). Thus far, the virus has not been thoroughly traced, though Bitdefender believes it originated in Albania. As soon as Facebook can shut down the virus, you will no longer see it in your news feed. Make sure to spread news of this virus, too, so that others can be warned.