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A Facebook virus, called "Koobface," first flagged in August of this year has hit the Boston media. In the past 24 hours, hundreds of Boston journalists, ad execs and public relations professionals who use the popular social networking service have received a Facebook message that purports to link to compromising video of its recipient.
“Look you were filmed all naked!” read the subject header on one iteration of the virus-spreading message, which is being sent automatically from infected accounts to the “friend” list for that account. Clicking the link usually takes users to a page that looks like YouTube, and a pop-up message advises the user to download a Flash plug-in. The download contains the virus, which replicates by contacting everyone on the victim’s Facebook friend list and advancing the hoax.
Some victims report the bug has taken control of their browser, redirecting Google search links to other pages.
For example, a search for “Mass High Tech” took Mills and Co. president Scott Farmelant to a website advertising “Karate Kid,” the PR professional said.
“The bigger issue is, it spread to numerous people I respect and admire,” he said.
A virus of this kind was first reported hitting Canadian Facebook users in August. In November, users in the United Kingdom reported the spread of a similar virus.
"Only a very small percentage of Facebook users have been affected and we're working quickly to update our security systems to minimize any further impact," the company said in a statement. Facebook is resetting passwords on infected accounts, removing malicious messages and working with third parties to remove redirects to malicious content elsewhere on the web, the statement said.
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