Computer forensics expert warns, ‘Do not click Bin Laden video links’
Posted May 09 2011 3:03pm
Osama bin Laden video links proliferating on Facebook are another scam, says Gary Warner, UAB’s resident cybersleuth and director of research in computer forensics . If you get an invitation to view one, do not click it, he says.
If you do click— and you use Internet Explorer or Chrome — your browser will install an app that posts copies of the invitation to your friends' Facebook walls, he says.
Depending on your security settings and browser, some versions of this video virus also install a fake anti-virus product on your computer. These cause frequent pop-up notices that warn of a virus and then offer to sell a product to remove it. “This is a fake product that does nothing other than generate money for the criminals when you buy it,” Warner says.
If you do click— and you use Internet Explorer or Chrome — your browser will install an app that posts copies of the invitation to your friends' Facebook walls, he says.
Depending on your security settings and browser, some versions of this video virus also install a fake anti-virus product on your computer. These cause frequent pop-up notices that warn of a virus and then offer to sell a product to remove it. “This is a fake product that does nothing other than generate money for the criminals when you buy it,” Warner says.