ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PandaLabs, Panda Security's anti-malware laboratory, has detected a new Twitter spam campaign that may compromise user security. Users receive a direct message on Twitter, which contains the text "Check out Obama punch a guy in the face for calling him a n*****," and a malicious link to a fake Facebook page. Click here for a screenshot of this message: http://press.pandasecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/DM-Twitter-Modificado.jpg.

If the user clicks the link, they are taken to a bogus Facebook page where they are prompted to submit their Twitter log-in details. However, if the user enters their credentials, the malware will hijack their account in order to send the same malicious message to all of their contacts: http://press.pandasecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Face1.jpg.

The user is then taken to a website that displays a fake YouTube video set against a fake Facebook background. This time, the victim is asked to update a 'YouTube player' to watch the video: http://press.pandasecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Face2.jpg. As typical with this type of scam, if the user clicks on the 'Install' button, the Koobface.LP worm is downloaded, infecting their computers and attempting to steal all their personal data.

"This attack exploits the two most popular social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter, to trick users into believing they are viewing a trusted site," said Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs. "It also relies on its victims' curiosity by using a scandalous story involving U.S. President Obama and racism. Cyber-criminals know people are curious by nature and take advantage of this to trick users and infect them with their creations."

Twitter Direct Messages, Yet Another Technique to Spread Malware Infections

This is just the latest example of a cyber-scam that uses Twitter direct messages to spread. Users' accounts receive dozens of them every day with malicious links and enticing messages such as, "What exactly do you think you're doing on this video clip", "Hello this guy is saying bad rumors about u...," and "Did you see this pic of you?", etc.

"Never, ever, click the links within the text of those messages as they could infect your computer," explained Corrons. "Every time you receive a direct message you should check with the sender that they have knowingly sent it to you. Make sure it has not been automatically forwarded to you from a hacked account. As a general rule, always keep your antivirus software up to date and be wary of messages offering sensational videos or unusual stories as, in 99 percent of cases they are designed to compromise user security."

About PandaLabs

Since 1990, PandaLabs, Panda Security's malware research laboratory, has been working to detect and classify malware in order to protect consumers and companies against new Internet threats. To do so, PandaLabs uses Collective Intelligence, a cloud-based proprietary system that leverages the knowledge gathered from Panda's user community to automatically detect, analyze and classify the more than 73,000 new malware strains that appear every day. This automated malware classification is complemented through the work of an international team with researchers specialized each in a specific type of malware (viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware and other attacks) to provide global coverage. Get more information about PandaLabs and subscribe to its blog news feed at http://www.pandalabs.com. Follow Panda on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Panda_Security and Facebook at http://www.facebook/PandaUSA.

SOURCE Panda Security