Slashdot Mirror
"Dislike" Button Scam Hits Facebook Users
An anonymous reader writes "A message saying 'I just got the Dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!'
is spreading rapidly on Facebook, tempting unsuspecting users into believing that they will be able to "dislike" posts as well as "like" them.
However, security researchers say that it is just the latest 'survey scam', tricking Facebook users into into giving a rogue Facebook application permission to access their profile, and posting spam messages from their account.
The rogue application requires victims to complete an online survey (which makes money for the scammers) before ultimately redirecting to a Firefox browser add-on for a Facebook dislike button developed by FaceMod.
"As far as we can tell, FaceMod aren't connected with the scam — their browser add-on is simply being used as bait," says Sophos security blogger Graham Cluley."
-1 "Dislike"
Been going on for months.
OH Noes!
(obligatory anim GIF) http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n13/greatcapp/oh-noes-everybody-panic.gif
I never listen to those "check out this new feature" ads.
Invariably you have to hop through hoops. It's never free.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Can I just have a 'Dislike' button for all of Facebook, please?
Actually, I think I'll take a 'Tactical Nuclear Strike' button instead, now that I think of it.
This is not new news, really. There is always some scam going around that takes advantage of the inability of most users to distinguish untrusted content from trusted content, not to mention the people who click Yes to every pop-up without understanding what they've just done.
Facebook is a gold mine for scams like this. There are way too many people using the site that don't care about the dangers. Apathy and ignorance are best ways to spread this kind of thing, and they are found aplenty in any social networking crowd, at least when it comes to the technology behind the social aspect.
Green's Law of Debate: Anything is possible if you don't know what you're talking about.
3295671st variation of "I love you" malware appeared online affecting mostly dumb BFUs.
839*929
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Uhuh. The you don't know what a Ponzi scheme is, and it's the *facebook* users that are the morons... riiiight.
Man did I get screwed over by iPhone spell replacement.
I can't really understand the loathing most people here display for facebook. Or rather, I do, but it seems like people loathe the basic idea of a "IRL overlay" social web? As long as you know enough people who use it, it's great for coordinating IRL activities like parties, birthdays, the nicer kind of activism, etc...
Emotions! In your brain!
Facebook is one of the most useful applications ever on the Internet. Love it or hate it, it connects people and their media. It's social networking on a grand scale.
With that said, to use one of the greatest applications ever, you must compromise your privacy and security. That's how good Facebook is, no matter how bad the bad is, people keep using it.
I've thought of emptying my profile several times, and just providing a link to a personal web site. I don't want to delete my account totally, there are still people that I want to keep in contact with that aren't really computer savvy, but know how to use Facebook. I also have a MyBand page for, well, my band. Very useful for letting people know when our shows will be, as well as a great way to connect to our fans.
I have enough experience with computers (30+ years) to know the scams when I see them. I have never gotten malware/spyware from an online social site. The one thing I do give up is a bit of my privacy. Not that I'm too worried about all the boogie men out there (although I will be more fearful when my kids are old enough to be on it). I do however sometimes feel like George Costanza on Seinfeld where his worlds were colliding. I don't always want to mix personal and business lives, but it seems to happen on Facebook.
I guess for now, I take the bad with the good and vice versa. I'm too lazy to change the world myself, so I'll leave it to the next visionaries to build a better Facebook and one that is just as popular.
oblig. "I'm too cool for Facebook, and anyone who uses it is Teh Stoopid". post. In fact, I'm so indie I only use websites that don't exist yet that no one else uses, either. And I don't communicate with anyone or anything via the Internet, I only passively consume it. Yay!
The scam hits everyone who uses Facebook, regardless of your browser, if you fall for it.
At the END of falling for the scam, after you've coughed up your survey answers and subscribed to the application, you would then be directed to a Firefox plugin (which was not developed by the people who are perpetrating the scam), at which point you could only install the plugin if you have Firefox.
By then, the scam authors couldn't give a shit whether you can use the plugin. It's not theirs, it's just something they found and used to give their scan a razor-thin veneer of respectability. I won't argue about the utility of the plug-in, because it has nothing to do with the scam.
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
..or you could simply add "127.0.0.1 facebook.com" to your hosts file - one little tweak, works on every OS, on every browser. The cleanest way for all those who just don't care much for it.
(Btw if you're using localhost as a webserver it's probably better to use 0.0.0.0 for all you annoyance blocking needs instead)
And when you gaze long enough into the code, the code will also gaze into you.
This article isn't really news. It seems that there is *always* something like this happening. Facebook is the perfect place for scams to happen. It's basically the new AOL.
You have many amateur users who don't understand the first thing about security, and you have millions of them. Millions! Make something that looks slightly "official," and you've got it made. (Remember the old antivirus popups on websites?)
We basically have a conglomerated database of targets for any exploit in a system that changes its layouts and features so frequently that no one can ever recognize that something looks a little off...
The bottom line is that this scam wouldn't be possible if Facebook had implemented a real dislike button years ago when people demanded one.
It's "stories" like this that make me wonder if people are trying to use Slashdot to get experienced people to do something about it so they don't have to.
"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"
Actually, I think you just described what 4chan would be like with buttons.
Hmm, if you go in /b/ you'll clearly see they're quite satisfied with artistically rendering their response into the form of an image that captures every poignant detail of their deep, meaningful logic.
"Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"