Sunday, August 1, 2010

Why Facebook doesn't always mean fun!!

So by now most of us are smart enough to not click on random emails or Facebook messages and distrust links in them. But, the wonderful spamming, hacking and identity theft communities are always hard at work so they keep coming up with new ways to make you go to sites you'd later wish you didn't go to. 

If you receive an official looking Facebook message or notification... be vary. A good idea always is to keep the 'email me' notification service of social networking sites as just that... a notification service. One should not 'load images' if they are blocked by your email inbox or click on any links provided in it. Because frankly you don't have to. Whatever the email is telling you it will be available once you go to Facebook/Orkut/Twitter/Linkedin etc. and log in so why take the chance to click on a potential security hazard. Case in point, observe exhibit A...

Exhibit 'A'

Now I got this email two days ago and its a friend request from me to me! Or atleast some guy that has my same name exactly but some sort of an alien white body. Now human behaviour dictates that my interest would peak to know who this other 'Ahmer Hasan' is... and to go straight to his profile, I would click on the link provided and satisfy my curiosity. But then that could also kill my curious cat.

I didn't click on the link but later went on to Facebook manually (by typing www.facebook.com in my browser) and then logging in... and guess what I found... No friend request from Ahmer Hasan. So then who sent the mail? Yes... thats right... people who thought wanted to steal my identity for some reason and my Facebook profile because its so cool!

Its not difficult anymore to email people with messages that capture the recipients informational parameters and then incorporate them within the mail for perceived authenticity. Neither is it difficult to setup a fake Facebook or another social networking site and ask you to 'log in' to see the 'full message' or 'picture' or 'friend request'. The moment you enter your details... POOF goes the real account on the real Facebook (or any other social networking site).

So click not and you shall prosper... be vary, for you have been warned and for the love of common sense update that anti-virus software!

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