Writing for NY Times, Brad Stone says viruses popping up on social nets are distinct from regular computer viruses in that they can attack people’s dignity. Viruses and malicious links are popping up on social sites Facebook and Twitter, and often to take a hold of a user s network to spread their message. Internet security firm Kaspersky Labs says as many as 500 links on Twitter on a given day are malicious, and another firm Sophos estimates that more than a fifth of social net users have been the targets of viruses.
Stone’s article looks at anecdotal evidence, citing a few cases to highlight how getting infected on a social net has more to do with public embarrassment than the private pain of a corrupted computer. One example: the poor guy who clicked on a scandalous photo, discovered the image posted on his Facebook page, and then found out it was sent to his entire friends list.
Read Brad Stone s article at NY Times.
