New Facebook virus spreading

There's a Facebook virus that is spreading from user to user, by sending notes to friends of the infected user. The notes tell the friend to visit a web site, where they are prompted to download an update to Adobe's Flash player.

Instead of update, of course, it's malware.

Koobface spreads by sending notes to friends of someone whose PC has been infected. The messages, with subject headers like, "You look just awesome in this new movie," direct recipients to a website where they are asked to download what it claims is an update of Adobe Systems Inc's Flash player.

If they download the software, users end up with an infected computer, which then takes users to contaminated sites when they try to use search engines from Google, Yahoo, MSN and Live.com, according McAfee.

Both my regular readers will be rolling their eyes and saying to themselves Here's where he rolls out "Borepatch's Law" for the 427th time. Of course, I wouldn't want to disappoint, so here goes:

Free download is Internet-speak for open your mouth and close your eyes.

Look, they made me say it, OK?

So if someone tells you d00d ur teh awes0m3 n th1s m0v13, don't click on it. If you do click and something tells you "You need to upgrade your Flash player RIGHT NOW!!!11!", just don't.

UPDATE 6 December 2008 20:22: Rob Allen has more Facebook security advice. Heh.