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Twitter Messages Can Be Dangerous to Your Computer Health!!! How to Protect Your PC!

Be careful out there in Twitterspace!!! It’s a jungle out there where “Survival of the Fittest” rules.

Just finished checking my Twitter Account and found I had 2 Direct Messages waiting for me. What could these be??? I excitedly went to check it out.

One was from an old friend on AR the other was from a new Twitter acquaintance, also an AR member. (Names omitted to protect the innocent)
The First Tweet said: "Hey look at this funny blog!" Getting ready to be tickled by a good laugh, I excitedly clicked the Link:

http://rosalierebyb.bl

(link altered to protect you)

No funny blog came up, but a serious message:

My Firefox Browser had blocked this site from automatically opening.

Why was this site blocked????

Because Firefox recognized it as a reported as a WEB FORGERY, Phishing or Malwares site.

At this point I get really suspicious because the second Tweet also had the same link! I thought I don't think my AR friend or this other "Tweeter", whom I don't even know would be sending me a Direct Message link, those are usually reserved for something important or private, I suspect somehow their accounts were compromised?

What is a Web Forgery? What is Phishing?

What is an Attack Site? What is Malware?

If you are not totally familiar with these dangers, please take the time to READ MORE about these threats, and how the Firefox Browser can protect you from these "surfing accidents!"

Also for SUPER protection for your PC get yourself a TOP Anti-Malware program such as Malwarebytes or Kaspersky.

These two programs are tried and true and attested to by Industry Techies as the best.

Warning: BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT Your Choice of "ANTI-MALWARE", "ANTI-VIRUS" PROGRAMS YOU DOWNLOAD!!!!! Some even will try to fool you with copycat sounding names!

MANY OF THESE SO CALLED "SPYWARE" PROGRAMS ARE REALLY MALWARE IN DISGUISE!!!!!

Did you hear me??? MANY OF THESE CAN REALLY BE Rogue MALWARE IN DISGUISE!!!!

So what should you do now to do to check if you may be infected and not know it? (Even if you are currently using a legitimate anti-spyware program some are less thorough at detecting malicious infections, which can mutate and fool many applications searching for it)

Do These Few Steps for a Safer Browsing Experience:

1) Download free version of Malwarebytes from Malwarebytes.org

Run quick scan, when finished view log, if any infections select and remove

2) After any infections are removed, if you aren't using Firefox: Download Firefox Browser

3) Change ALL your passwords if infections were found. It's a good idea to change passwords on social media sites regularly.

4) Come back here and comment if any infections were found!

5) REBLOG this to get the word out!

6) NOTE: Malwarebytes anti-spyware anti-malware program was recommended to me by High Tech geeks from DELL after my former paid 50 bucks a year Spyware did not detect Malware/virus on my PC which ended up completely shutting me down. Believe me this is a nightmare you don't want to happen!!! Hours of reformatting my PC, and endless days of reinstalling everything!!! The Virus even wiped out my external hardrive!

The free version will scan for you, but for REAL TIME Protection you will need the full version which unlocks realtime protection, scheduled scanning, and scheduled updating

The full version of Malwarebytes ALSO updates itself continually to keep ahead of these Rogue virus and Malware that are constantly "mutating." Malwarebytes is known for finding infections that will escape other programs!! This has saved me a few times in the last month!

You can Download Malwarebytes full version here: this costs only a ONE TIME fee of 24.95 for a LIFETIME of protection.

Kaspersky full version is another option at 79.95 per year.

*********THIS JUST IN: Twitter Under Phishing Attack!!!!!************

LIKE I SAID IT IS A JUNGLE OUT THERE!!!! MAKE SURE YOUR PC IS WEARING ITS PROTECTIVE GEAR! AND WATCH WHERE YOU WANDER!!!

Happy & Safe Surfing Friends~
Ginger

©Ginger Sala Wilmington NC Real Estate & Relocation

Posted by Wilmington NC Real Estate & Relocation~ Ginger & Roger Sala on 01/04/2009 10:44 PM

Comments (77)

Twitter in the ActiveRain Channel

twitter, phishing, social media, malware, spyware

Originally posted at: Wilmington NC Real Estate : Twitter Messages Can Be Dangerous to Your Computer Health!!! How to Protect Your PC!

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77 Comments on Twitter Messages Can Be Dangerous to Your Computer Health!!! How to Protect Your PC!

JAN

I got the same thing. I went to it and nothing so far happened, but I am running Mac which has been said to be safer than PC. I will let you know if anything happens. Happy New Year

I noticed everyone was twittering about this today. Got one of those messages, but it was a hoax and I didn't click it.

I haven't gotten into Twitter yet. I was just thinking that I should. Hmmmm.

I've seen some other people that have come across this in blogs and other. Also see Active Brad's postings on the malware and links. It took him weeks to get bugs off his machine from accidentally clicking on something!

Susan, MACS are not immune. Why not run a scan now? These infections are stealth and do not show themselves right away!

Ginger - well I was going to write about this but you beat me. Yep I got phished, badly. And it was before folks knew what was going on, the warning was posted, and the site blocked. Ugly stuff. Changed my password a few times and things have settled down, thanks to actions taken by Twitter. It spread like wildfire for a while, thought - major pain when one is trying to accomplish other things.

Jeff

Pat, You can do Twitter safely, If you are careful. You'd be great there!

Thanks for the warning, it's scary out there.

Jeff, What browser are you running? I am so thrilled Firefox stopped me from Clicking through!

Georgiana, Good for you! I am usually careful, but when I saw t his from avterean AR guy who is very web savvy...I went to click through

Diane, I recently had to a complete reformatting of my laptop..I had deep problems that my spyware was not picking up. Dell walked me through everything on the phone ( the reinstall which took hours, and then days of reloading everything) and recommended Malwarebytes.org to sweep in the future. The virus even got my external hard drive. Good thing I had a second backup in place!

Ginger thanks for the warning. There is so much junk out there that you never know when you are going to become a victim.

Thanks for getting the word out! Mike Mueller just posted about that too.

Marchel Yes it sure is . See my above comment to Diane!

@RealtorJimLee, it's important to always practice safe twittering. http://www.twitter.com/RealtorJimLee

I just cleaned up an ugly virus of some sort on my computer last night...I was not a happy camper, trust me. I saw the Twitter warning. Thank goodness I didn't click on my DM saying to "open this". Thanks for the great advice. Off to download it as we speak!

Thanks for the warning. I am on twitter but do not use it to its fullest potential and this is exactly what I would fall for, BUT not now.

Ginger~ It has been pretty scary today and yesterday!! I think I'll stay away from all thes enew twitter apps for a while as well. Thanks for the update and malware download..!!

All the AV software in the world wont protect you from clicking on links or giving over your info willingly.

Ginger I have received many of these DM and I might have clicked on one before deleting it so I will take your advice. Thank you.

I received a bunch of those also. I just deleted them without opening them. The bad part is that they were all from trusted friends...who are innocent. Thanks for the informative post that I know will help a bunch of people. ~GBU~

Sheesh, thanks for the info. I thought I was paranoid before, but now....

Interesting -- you never know where something is lurking. All the best.

George, its already happens to me. Just a couple of months ago. And I am very careful

Jim, safe is the operative word. There is no such thing a too safe on the web!

Elizabeth, How do you find it?

Kari, Terrific! Glad you stopped by to get the info! Nice to meet you~

Laura, I stopped using apps on Facebook as well!

Shane, Absolutley, got to watch our click reflex~

Jennifer, Good thing you didn't click today!

JAN

I got the same thing as well this evening. I responded to the person who the DM was from informing them their account had been hacked and to log in and change their password. Hope that helps at least part of it.

Good tips on the maleware as well. Cheers!

Elizabeth, I saw just 2 in my box early today before the warnings were out

Eileen, It's sometimes a good thing to be paranoid :)

Ginger, thanks for the heads up. I saw the warning on Twitter and also a lot of folks posted tweets about it. Join my NEW group for professionals who work from their home office at http://activerain.com/groups/virtualoffice Regina P. Brown

Thanks for the great post. I'm not on twitter but Lisa is, she keeps saying I should give it a try. I guess I'll have to share your blog with her!

Hi Ginger, Thanks, I didn't hear about it.

I got a bad one in an email attachment that my husband sent to me last week, my computer shut down, but all is good.

Ginger, We can't be too up to date when it comes to protection. Mu computer guy recently installed Malware so I'm better protected, but as many have said, nothing is 100%. Thanks for posting.

I got three of them. Luckily someone I follow had tweeted about it. There were three in my DMs on Tweetdeck and Twitter but there was one in my mailbox that was not showing up on Twitter (or Tweetdeck.) That was odd.

I will have to install that protection download. I was not aware of Twitter issue. Thank you fo the heads up.

I really have no use for twitter and rarely use it so I'll probably won't be getting those types of messages.

Since I've so far resisted Twittering, I don't have the problem. But thanks for letting all of us know. This is important info.

Important information! Thanks for the head's up, and thank heavens for Firefox! I actualy got a DM from another ActiveRainer today and deleted the message because I couldn't imagine why she would be offering me an iphone - I just wasn't interested. 'Turns out this was one of the phishing messages.

Thanks so much for the warning...I will be on lookout!

If they haven't already......I'm sure a lot of the AR community will be installing an anti-Malware program such as Malwarebytes or Kaspersky. Thanks,

Be careful with the installations and review the files before you delete them. Malwarebytes identified my security program as malware (LOL). I had to uncheck 166 files. That was time consuming. :-)

Hi Ginger, I'm glad I read this before opening those DM's, thanks for the heads up! :)

I got the phish on twitter yesterday. Didn't realize it until I received several twits that I needed to change my password. Thanks for the info on the protection...looks like mine didn't help save me...

Just got finished downloading Malwarebytes.org free and running it...unbelievable how much it found. Thanks again for not only the heads up but also the free software link. Much appreciated.

Thanks for the heads up on this Ginger!

Bob & Carolin, Absolutley~ Can't be too careful

Heather, I am wondering what damge this hacking will do

Regina, Twitter was too slow in getting the warning out

Jim, Its not just Twiiter it's anytime you are online! It's a jungle

Virginia, What program did you ust to make sure the virus was totlaly eliminated?

Barb, You are so rught nothing is 100% but we can get as close as possible

Maureen, I am holding back oninstalling the Tweetdeck app~I find it scary

Mark, You are welcome! Thanks for stopping by

Neal, I am not really much of a twitterer and don't use it much

Thanks for the info - I have received quite a few DM's lately and have not been opening them because of this.

Ginger, I saw this yesterday but got distracted so am happy marti listed it as I had no idea this was going on. Luckily, I haven't had any problems but I truly appreciate the warning!

Very informative and thorough article about this popular subject. I too was bombarded by DM's over the weekend. still a few trickling in today. People need to develop an eye to spot this sort of thing.

Good to know, and excellent timing since I'm not on it yet. Brian Madigan

Diane, Twitter messages is just one of the ways to catch malware or a virus~

Margaret, What a relief you caught it~

Tina, You are welcome! Thanks for commenting~

Rebecca, Those 2 are well respected...

C Tann, What security program are you running?

Suzanne, You;re wlcome. Glad you got the info in time!

Gena, I am so thrilled it helped you. I ourchased the full version for rela time protection. it has found a couple of infections already and stopped others!

Sharon, Happy to provide this info for you. Thanks for stopping by to comment

Diane, Thanks! I was surpirsed when I saw Marti's post. My mission is to get the word out, and his feature sure helped!

JAN

Ginger~ I found these links in your post so helpful: What is a Web Forgery? What is Phishing? What is an Attack Site? What is Malware? THX!

Ginger, I heard about this and had a couple of DMs from people I don't know. Didn't open them but I haven't changed my password. I have a Mac also but am going to check out the downloads you recommended. Thanks so much for posting this!

JAN

I read this with a great deal of interest - I'm planning to set up on Twitter and I need good info such as you provided. That was an excellent post for a novice like me at this sort of thing. Thank you very much, Karen

Kris, Hopefully you did not open any right?

Brian, Twitter is just one way to get attacked~ these crooks are constanly trying to outrun every security system

JAN

It's very scary! I got some of those Direct Messages too, and thankfully I use Firefox and got the same warning as you. And yes, those Facebooks apps scare me too! I think it is safest to ignore all those invitations.....sorry FB friends, but better safe than sorry!

JaneAnne, Glad I could be of assistance my friend~

Sharon, Macs can still get Malware, The crooks are finding a way~

Karen, You are so welcome!

I had ten of them in one day but somehow was able to quickly figure out is was bad stuff:)

JAN

Ann, Thank goodness for Firefox...I have been ignoring all Facebook invites for a few weeks now.

JAN

Ginger I love Tweetdeck, I would not be without it now but you have to turn off the sound. It can drive people mad. It makes a ping sound when new things are added. It is a horrible sound.

Maureen, I have attemped to dwnload Tweetdeck a few times. I always end up backing out after I get a warning message ARE YOU SURE......I am so afraid of these apps that have so much control of passwords.

Ginger, I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier, I just signed onto Twitter--although I know you can get this anywhere. I'm going to get the site you suggested, it's a very small price to pay not to get a virus. Thank you for all the information.

Ginger ~ Thanks for the warning, I just recently became ative with Twitter.

JAN

Wow! I just happened to log into Twitter today (which I don't use that much) and found that one of my contacts is being "investigated" for "strange activity". Thanks for these alerts and tips.

I read about something that happened after these phishing messages on Twitter. A hacker hacked into a Twitter staffer's Twitter account. He's one of those guys who spends his life testing to see if he can hack in. He used a dictionary attack? Over night his system tried different passwords and finally found hers and was in. Most sites are set up to lock you out after x number of tries. It was allowed to retry for hours and hours.

Carole, I agree, It just found another rogue yesterday, that had come with a Firefox add on, I have to blog about it.

JAN

Congratulations! I highlighted you in NC Week in Review!

JAN

Ginger,
I don't Twitter but I am very cautious about what I open and I do have MalwareBytes. We have to be very careful, there is so much out there that can harm our computer and compromise our information.

JAN

Sylvia, Those contacts are spammers that have been found out

Bill, ten would be a tipoff!

JAN

Ginger, yikes! I'm just starting to get into Twitter, and this stuff is all a little scary!

JAN

Ginger....wow! I have a twitter account, my blogs go there but I don't know much more beyond that. I have a lot of reading to do. Thanks so much for the heads up!

JAN

Ginger - Never hurts to be too cautious! Reading about all the cautions of social media is sometimes a little scary to me, too.

FEB

I see a lot of connnection requests that to be honest worry me......I stick to those I know or associate with.

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