It’s a pretty scary time for Twitter users with the eSecurity Planet report of a new viral worm on the rise using a URL shortening service to snatch victims into a redirect through several sites until reaching a fake antivirus software program page. In all honesty, it’s something not uncommon these days in the Twittersphere, but this particular bug takes the cake as far as creating serious havoc in cyberspace.
What happens is the particular scareware page offering the “antivirus software” tries to convince these Twitter users that their PCs and/or mobile devices are already being infected and then quickly forces a download of a bogus AV application. It essentially spreads more malware and then forces users to have to pay for the software that really doesn’t do anything but take up memory.
Many of you might consider that familiar. It’s a common tactic used by hackers to infiltrate systems using a worm or trojan of some kind. This is, however, the first of its kind to attack the arena of Twitter; and it won’t be the last to face off against other social sites–such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and many others.
That’s definitely not a fun time for the internet. It would only be a matter of time before authentic antivirus softwares plug in and nail these particular strains of programming designed to attack a specific social platform such as Twitter, but the truth is the worms and trojans of cyberspace continue to evolve like real diseases. So keep your eyes open, and constantly update your antivirus software regularly, checking internet news for some of the latest stories on viruses and spyware. You can never be too careful as you surf the random waters of the web, especially when you’re doing something as harmless as writing a short 140-character update.