Koobface is a worm that recently made headlines as it spread through Facebook and infected the PCs of many unsuspecting members of the popular social networking site. Koobface tricks a person into downloading its installation file, then redirects search engine traffic to a site called find-www.net. Facebook has been working on cleaning out their computer systems, and posted some advice for dealing with a Koobface infection.
Koobface spread through Facebook by using social engineering tricks. Victims see a link that appears to lead to a video of themselves. When the victim clicks the link, they are asked to upgrade their Flash player in order to watch the video. Instead of downloading the Flash player update, the Koobface worm installs itself.
Once Koobface has infected a PC, it hijacks search engine traffic and diverts it to a site called find-www.net. If a person with an infected computer tries to do a Google or Yahoo! search, they may end up at this illegitimate search engine instead.
Facebook posted a notice regarding the Koobface worm on their security page. They suggest that a person whose PC has been infected use an up-to-date virus scanner, and then reset their Facebook password. Some of the free online virus scanners suggested are Kaspersky, Symantec, McAfee and Microsoft Live OneCare.
