"My friends that were on my list on Facebook would get links posted on their walls or in their inbox like try this new diet or click on this link; it was under my name, coming from my account," Jenn said.
Because the links appeared to be coming from Jen, many of her friends assumed it was legitimate, only to find out when they clicked on the link, their computers would be infected with a virus.
Jenn says she had privacy settings enabled, so how did someone hack into her account and send this malicious code under her name?
She started noticing a pattern: these phony links were sent out shortly after Jenn would use some of the more popular applications on Facebook like IQ tests and quizzes.
Drexel University Professor Rober D'Ovidio says most types of applications, like the IQ tests or quizzes you often see, are created by third parties which can access your personal information if you use the apps they design and D'Ovidio says there is no way to know who is behind writing those applications.
"Your responses to individual quiz you may not find compromising to your privacy,y but when you combine the data, then it becomes a privacy concern," D'Ovidio said.
That is what likely happened to Jenn. After using several applications, a third party was able to access enough of Jenn's personal information to hack into her account and send malicious code to her friends.
"Since then I don't use any of those applications, I don't play any of the games that they have like Farmville or Mafia Wars," Jenn said.
It is an easy way for these hackers to access personal information of more than one person; if they get into one account, they have access to that person's entire network of friends.
So how can you protect yourself and your friends?
Make sure you are careful of what kind of information you provide in your profile, refrain from providing your phone number or address regardless of how many privacy settings you enable. Change your password from time to time and never, ever allow strangers into your community of friends. Finally, make sure you report any suspicious activity or links to the site's security team.
Plus, understand what kind of information will be available to third parties if you use applications Set up a separate email account you use exclusively for social networking sites Never share your password Always log out of your account at the end of each session If you are ever prompted to log into Facebook, make sure it's from a legitimate Facebook web address
Visit this section of facebook:
