Virus Alert ! !

Becky Taylor sent this item in but I laughed that it was not noticed until it affected the younger computer users. Many times we get greeting cards but they bring a warning that we need to download the latest Acrobat Flash. Just don't do it. Sometimes you might go to an interesting sounding website and  get the same warning. Just leave and do not open it and do not attempt to download anything. Read first what Snopes has to say about it and  always use caution in traveling around the Internet. Nita

CHECKED SNOPES.COM:  http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/koobface.asp  REAL VIRUS!

So you, or more likely, your kids are using social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace. Besides the inherent risks of putting information out there for all to see, and create contacts from persons known, and more seriously, unknown, these sites are consistently being hit with attempts at attacking PCs. These sites seem to be the malware bonanza for bad people. Below is SANs information regarding the latest worm variant, called Koobface. This is only the latest in a series of serious breaches occurring from having social network sites on a PC. As much as social networking seems fun, innocent and is so popular, particularly among younger people, at the very least, using these on a home computer easily opens up some very real dangers to your computer.

ATTACKS & ACTIVE EXPLOITS
 --Koobface Variant Spreading Through Social Networking Sites (March 2, 2009)

A variant of the Koobface worm has been spreading through social
networking communities such as Facebook and MySpace.  The malware
spreads by sending messages that appear to come from friends, asking
them to click on a link to watch a video.  When the users reach the
malicious website, they receive a message that they need to install an
Adobe Flash plug-in to view the clip properly.  If they agree to install
the plug-in, a Trojan horse program is installed on the computer
instead, giving attackers control over the machine.  This Koobface
variant also sends out invitations to watch the bogus clip to contacts
through the social networking account. 

In addition, two rogue Facebook
applications have been attempting to steal user data.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/03/koobface_worm_resurfaces_on_fa.html

[Editor's Note (Skoudis): Get used to this. I think we'll see a steady
stream of these kinds of stories with malware propagating via social
networking contacts throughout the next few years.  And, given the
increasingly flexible APIs the social network sites are implementing,
bad guys will be able to mine this information for attacks far more
effectively.]