Facebook viruses have been around for a while, but lately I’ve seen them cropping up even more frequently. You get a Facebook virus when you click on a link that installs malicious code or if you allow an untrusted application access to your account. The links most people click on claim to tell you who has been looking at your Facebook profile (catch those stalkers and ex-boyfriends in the act!) or allow you to watch a video of something “you won’t believe!” or even a video of you (What were you doing here? That’s crazy!). Facebook viruses are becoming harder to discern. This article explains how to fix your Facebook account if you have a Facebook virus.What Do I Do If I Have a Facebook Virus?
The first thing you have to do when you discover you have a Facebook virus is change your Facebook password. Here’s how:
- Log in to your Facebook book account.
- Click Account > Account Settings.
The My Account page appears. - Click the Change link next to Password.
Three text boxes appear. - Type your current password into the Old Password text box.
- Type a new password into the New Password text box.
- Re-type the new password into the Confirm Password text box.
- Click the Change Password button.
Once you’ve changed your password, write a status update alerting your friends that you clicked on a bad link and had a Facebook virus. Tell your friends not to click on any links that appear to be from you (then refrain from posting any links for a while so people don’t worry about which links are good or bad). If you know specific people received a viral link from you, head over to their Facebook Wall and delete the message from you if you can and let your friend know not to click on the link.
Finally, check to be sure the application isn’t lurking on your account. It’s probably not, but it’s good to be sure and now is a good time to clean out the apps you’re not using any more anyway. To check the apps connected to your account, follow these instructions:
- Go to Account > Privacy Settings.
The Choose Your Privacy Settings page appears. At the bottom of the page is a header called Apps and Websites. - Click the Edit your Settings link under Apps and Websites.
The Apps, Games, and Websites page comes up. - Click the top Edit Settings button (by Apps You Use).
The Apps You Use page comes up listing all the apps you’ve allowed to have access to your account. - Go through the list and be sure you know each and every one of the apps.
- If you’re unsure if the app is trusted or if you want to remove an app:
- Click the Edit Settings button next to the app.
- Click the Remove App link.
If you don’t see an app that looks like it’s related to the virus, that’s OK. It may not be there. Changing your password is what really matters, this last bit is just insurance.
How Do I Know If a Link Is a Facebook Virus?
With every new current event, you can expect a new rash of viruses. When Osama bin Laden was killed, links surfaced on Facebook suggesting you could watch the raid or see Osama’s dead body. In the last month, a particularly insidious Facebook virus was going around that sent a message claiming someone had tagged or commented on a photo of you. Many times the person who supposedly did the tagging wasn’t someone you knew and many people clicked on the link. Other versions of the virus named the tagger/commenter as one of your friends. Unfortunately, when you click the link, you’re taken to a blank page and most people simply think the link was bad or bogus. In actuality, the link installed a Facebook virus and started sending out bogus links to your friends. If they clicked the links, they got the virus.
One way to avoid getting a dreaded virus is to pay attention. Before you click on a link, consider the source. Is this the type of link this friend usually shares? If not, don’t click. If you’re tempted to click, first hover your mouse over the link and look in the lower left corner of your browser. You’ll see the URL attached to that link. If it’s not a URL you’re familiar with, don’t click the link. If you see .info in the link, I suggest not clicking the link (a link that infected my friend’s account was a .info link).
Do you have more tips? Please leave them in the comments!
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I have so many friends who will LOVE this post/information! Thanks for this post!
Jennifer B. recently posted..Birthday Bash – Boogie Boutique
Thank you very much. I found your post from Ronni Bennett’s site. I got caught by the same virus. I never saw the supposed picture of me and tried to bail out before I gave them any info, but they got it anyway.
Ruthe Karlin recently posted..Facebook is using me
Great info! I hate those folks who create viruses. It’s just evil.
Jenn @ Frugal Upstate recently posted..Walmart Challege- A Mother’s Day Breakfast So Simple A Child Could Do It
Great information as usual, Melanie! I just checked all my FB apps.
Jenny, Crash Test Mommy recently posted..Tiny Bubbles – A Letter to My Daughter at Nine Going on Nineteen
Thanks for sharing the post, Jennifer! I’ve had so many people asking me what to do about viruses that I figured it was worth a post. It’s a good idea to check your apps periodically, anyway, if if you don’t have a FB virus.
Ruthe, that’s what happens to a lot of people. Even I got a Facebook virus in January! I clicked on a link that was related to my friend’s blogging niche. Since I trusted her links and I know she regularly works with various brands, I clicked and allowed the app! I know. It was a ridiculous mistake, but we all make it at one time or another.
Jen, wouldn’t it be amazing if people spent their time hacking to SOLVE problems instead of CREATE them?
Jenny, Thanks for coming by! Checking your apps periodically, even when you don’t have a virus, is always a good idea. I sometimes forget there are apps I no longer use.
And now, I can see that my threaded comments aren’t working so I’m adding that to my TO FIX list. {sigh} It never ends, does it?
Thank you for the info. I will check out my site and also pass this on.
Thanks so much! My curiousity got me clicking a link I had a feeling was a virus. I don’t know why, I was being stupid.
So if I change my password to my account, does that mean whoever had access to my information can’t get to it anymore? Will he continue to use it / have access to it? And will I have to delete my account? Because I really don’t want to have to start it all over and erase everything…
Again, thank you for the post!
Natasha,
Changing your password should be enough. The app won’t be able to access your information or use your account to spread the virus. You don’t have delete your account or start over.
There is NO such thing as a facebook virus!
There are spy-programs that can register your password for facebook, but it is NOT enough to click on a link, you actually have to run a program(trojan program). And the only thing you need to do to stay safe, is never to run programs that you don’t know are safe.
Clicking on a video or a picture cant give you virus, since viruses can’t spread through those kinds of files. avoid files that end with .exe
I posted to my friends that anything sent by me will ALWAYS have unique characters after the end of the message – ♫ ♫ is one of two that I use. They know if one or the other characters isn’t there, it’s spam/and/or virus. ♫ ♫
Thanks for the informations…..
I opened an email from “Facebook Administrator” and a popup called “Security Shield” appeared. It is impossible to get rid of. No matter where I go on my computer, or try to go, it pops up. What can I do to stop it? Is it a virus which infects the whole computer?
I believe I have a virus on my facebook account and I just don’t knw what to do. The info here helped but I can’t access facebook through my computer. Did the virus affect my computer? And every time I try to login, it says that facebook is having temporary technical problems! HELP ME!! =[
the same thing happens to me, I’ve tried everything and i still can not enter on my account :/
Yep..same here
I got my account working again. I had someone change my password from a different computer. It worked for a while, but as I type?, the virus came back.
I thought it was just me mine is doing that too. I can’t run any scans I can only get on certain web pages. I can’t download any new virus protection or use the one I had. I can’t even open my internet exployer I can only get on google chrome & after so long it kicks me off. Any help here??
ive being tagged in a video now i can’t get on facebook at all but can get on the internet. ive tried resetting my password and can’t even get on can any1 help please??
The same exact thing happened to me. I can surf anything, but I can’t get to facebook.com whatsoever. A profile that had the same last name as me, “I thought it was a relative” sent me a link to a youtube site. A video that I was supposed to be in. After that, everything was messed up. Even my Microsoft Security Essentials is acting strange. I hate it. It’s been almost a week. I wish someone knew how to fix this.
The same thing happened to me.. A friend sent me a link to a video claiming that I was in it..i clicked it and now i cant even go on facebook.com to try doing this changing password thing.
i got a virus in a chat.I’m used to random links in chats that are dodgy,but this one actually held a conversation with me as if it was really my friend talking and sending me a legit link.I’ve removed all the threats from my p.c and changed my password now,and i hope it’s okay.
Thank you for this information. I just happen to click a link earlier then I open again my laptop, after that, I cannot open my facebook account using my laptop anymore. I used my friends laptop to change my password and reinstall the browser. facebook told me that there is someone opening my account, a place far away from me. It was being hack and virus at the same time and evrytime I open, log in tag repeated to flash out for me to log in. Then I used “https” and congnited link to open my facebook account.
thanks again
Firefox is blocking me and saying i cant go through to facebook
Thank you for posting this up! I will spread this website to my friends at facebook ty!!
My son clicked on one of them links not we can not get in to our accounts. I can not get to face book to change password or anything I am completely blocked ???
I can not even get there to set up a new account! any and all help would be nice – Thanks
i dont know if this happens to everyone… but after ive donne all of that some apps tried to run on my PC… Went and checked download, new install and everything and found the apps in the Temp folder on my hard drive… after i deleted the problematic one ( should not delete everything in there as Windows does not suggest that), fixed the problem…
When ever i login to my facebook account it’s usual say’s someone tried to login to my facebook account i dnt like these thing pls i beg help me do something
I am not able to login to facebook. If i try to login i am getting the same facebook login page without any errors. How do i get rid of this problem ? Has any virus infected my system ?
i already changed my password but t still keeps showing up? is there anything else to get rid of it?
Did the virus affect my computer? i got a virus in a chat.I’m used to random links in chats that are dodgy,but this one actually held a conversation with me as if it was really my friend talking and sending me a legit link.I’ve removed all the threats from my p.c and changed my password now,and i hope it’s okay. Thanks for sharing the post, Jennifer!
Antoinette Davis recently posted..Cancer Tattoos Tumblr
well i don’t remember clicking on any link but my facebook is automaticly posting spam on other people’s profiles, I deleted my account
Help:It says on my fb: It says my account is temporily locked.
Then I click on continue and it says that there could be a virus.
Then it says to run an anti-virus software and the Apple Guy told me not to run anything and to contact facebook. I tried….no response
I cannot even change my password because I cannot accces my account…..I don’t want to do anything until I find out the next step! This is my page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Chocolate-Muffin-Tree/195387177139119
Melissa @The Chocolate Muffin Tree recently posted..Tie Dye Coffee Filter Snowflakes
I got a VIRUS from facebook named . Thanks to your help i have been able to get rid of it. i was about to lose my facebook account. Now I am happy. Thank you.
I immediately clicked on the change account setting and changed my password.
Thanks for posting this, a friend sent a wall post saying to not open half an hour after opening the link. I did everything you said to do and feel a little safer now. I only wish I could post this link to my friends now to give them the info, but since I told them to not open links from me for a week or so… I can’t!
Thank you sooo much for the in formation!
my message in facebook dosen’t come timely.suddenly all messages comes togather and i saw those message was sent long ago..is this a virus?and what should i do now??
I did all of that and I still get spam posted to my wall advertising for other companies and such. I have deleted all of my apps, changed my password multiple times, and went through all the programs on my computer to make sure they’re legit. The spam bot hacks anyone who logs in using my computer. I have tried everything! Please help!
Does this get rid of the virus?
i still cant get rid of it! PLZ HELP ME SOMEONE
Shiraz recently posted..What Do Bloggers Need to Claim for Taxes?
Im now wondering if this is a spam/virus too….