Facebook Hit by New Malware Scam Targeting Mac and Windows

Sophos is warning about a new round of malicious Web links circulating on Facebook that install fake anti-virus software on victims' computers. According to Computerworld, the initial scam purportedly led to a video of disgraced former International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and a hotel maid, but then was switched to a link that was supposed to be an X-rated video of celebrities Rihanna and Hayden Panettiere.

On a PC, the scam instructs the user to install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player in order to watch the video, but actually the software they install is a fake anti-virus program. On a Mac, a pop-up window appears that looks like a security warning. Clicking "fix" installs the fake software that resembles Mac Defender.

In a blog post, F-Secure calls the attack "significant" and explains that it is spreading virally using Facebook's "Like" feature with users in the United States and the UK being most at risk.

Apple has been battling a recent wave of fake anti-virus software targeting Mac users. Last month, Apple promised an update for Mac OS X that will find and delete the fake anti-virus program known as Mac Defender. However, scammers quickly tweaked the scareware and released a new variant under a new name.