Social networking sites worm - 6 Steps to Protect yourself
No doubt, few remain unaware of the recent, "social networking sites worm," that spread by, " by exploiting a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability and infecting an unknown number of Twitter profiles." Perhaps, some may not be aware, however, that, as Elinor Mills of CNET news reported, Facebook and Myspace members have also been victims of a worm, spread when members clicked on a video link in messages sent by friends. On logging onto the associated social network site, following such infection, malicious messages would then be sent to friends, so propogating the bug, chain letter style.
None can argue that the danger from such attacks is on the increase and that the risk is relatively potent. Brian Prince in Network Security and Hardware quotes from the Malware Evolution 2008 report that, "malicious code distributed via social networking sites has a success rate of 10 per cent in terms of infections, making it 10 times more potent than malware distributed via email. Here are 6 steps you can take to protect yourself, insuring that you do not become a victim of any new social networking sites worm that may arise.
1. Limit the JavaScript code executed from online sites or downloads to trusted sources only (in plain English don't install or download anything not from a trusted site)
2. Make sure that your anti-virus/security software e.g Norton is up to date and is scheduled to run frequently
3. Make sure that you keep up to date with Microsoft security patches
4. Turn off JavaScript in your browser temporarily if you suspect you may have an infection
5. Do not click on untrusted links from social networking sites
6. Reset your password immediately if spam has been sent from your account (Facebook security advice) but would apply to all social networking sites
Above all, don't let cyber-criminals spoil your experience of social networking. Just be appropriately vigilant and take the precaustions listed above. Happily, if we all do likewise, then those who presume to spoil it for the rest of us will not succeed. 
Sandra Charan
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