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McAfee to help BAN infected PCs from Facebook: a revolution in social networking?
Facebook has undoubtedly become one of the most trafficked websites in the world, this is great in some respects. Everyone can log in, chat with friends and make the world so much more connected. Ultimately, that has its pit falls, as is why Facebook is to use McAfee’s services to enhance its security checks of computers attempting to log on to the site. If a security threat is detected, the user may not be allowed to access the site until the problem is dealt with. A problem that is growing at an exponential rate as seen in Chris's post.
There has been a limited form of security checking on the site since last July, with compromised accounts automatically locked. Under the existing system, if an account displays suspicious behavior such as posting a link to a known malware site, the user is required to go through a security check, verify they are the account holder and change their password before being able to access the account.
This all changes with the new system in place, McAfee will provide Facebook with added detail on signs an account could be compromised. Where that happens, the user will now not only need to go through the verification process but will also need to run a McAfee scan and agree to its suggested fixing of any problems. In this instance, the scan will run directly from Facebook itself rather than involving software installation.
In return for providing the scanning, McAfee will be given marketing opportunities to promote discount offers on subscriptions on its security services. These will be seen by all Facebook users and won’t be related to the scans. Facebook notes it isn’t receiving any commission on related sales. The deal begins with a free six month subscription for any users who sign up as a “fan” of McAfee and thus promote the firm’s Facebook page to their online contacts.
Importantly, while the agreement makes a lot of sense in theory, it’s easy to see how things could go wrong. The sheer number of Facebook users means there only needs to be a small error rate before a decent number of people have their accounts wrongly identified as compromised. And of the resulting scans, the chances are that at least one person will wind up with an important file deleted as a false positive.
That’s not going to play well for a scan that’s mandatory for using the site, is it now? Could this new system make or break Facebook, maybe even revolutionise the way social networking sites protect it's user base and prevent the ever-growing spread of malware and spam across their platforms?
Have you ever experienced a security issue on Facebook and if so, what was it?
Via Blorge
There has been a limited form of security checking on the site since last July, with compromised accounts automatically locked. Under the existing system, if an account displays suspicious behavior such as posting a link to a known malware site, the user is required to go through a security check, verify they are the account holder and change their password before being able to access the account.
This all changes with the new system in place, McAfee will provide Facebook with added detail on signs an account could be compromised. Where that happens, the user will now not only need to go through the verification process but will also need to run a McAfee scan and agree to its suggested fixing of any problems. In this instance, the scan will run directly from Facebook itself rather than involving software installation.
In return for providing the scanning, McAfee will be given marketing opportunities to promote discount offers on subscriptions on its security services. These will be seen by all Facebook users and won’t be related to the scans. Facebook notes it isn’t receiving any commission on related sales. The deal begins with a free six month subscription for any users who sign up as a “fan” of McAfee and thus promote the firm’s Facebook page to their online contacts.
Importantly, while the agreement makes a lot of sense in theory, it’s easy to see how things could go wrong. The sheer number of Facebook users means there only needs to be a small error rate before a decent number of people have their accounts wrongly identified as compromised. And of the resulting scans, the chances are that at least one person will wind up with an important file deleted as a false positive.
That’s not going to play well for a scan that’s mandatory for using the site, is it now? Could this new system make or break Facebook, maybe even revolutionise the way social networking sites protect it's user base and prevent the ever-growing spread of malware and spam across their platforms?
Have you ever experienced a security issue on Facebook and if so, what was it?
Via Blorge
Tags: connected, malware, networking, social, spam
Views: 7
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Wandering I on -
I've never had a security issue on facebook, but then again I'm not a teenage kid who'll just agree to install anything.
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Permalink Reply by zulfeqar ahmed on -
well there are security tweaks every where its just how you find them.
A display stands Designer
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Permalink Reply by James Young on -
What a ploy for McAfee to make money. I'm not a big fan of their software which is why I don't use it to begin with. If Facebook isn't getting a commission for this, them I'm the pope.
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Permalink Reply by David King on -
It would seem that way to me too, certainly interesting to see a site intervene and prevent users accessing it's site and causing problems for other users though.
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Permalink Reply by David King on
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Facebook know that, but a user's problems are being broadcast all over facebook because they can't clear up their computer. That's not only not fair to facebook, but not fair to it's millions of users who could get the same virus because of that. As is why, they are now banning suspicious computers, and are so far the ONLY social networking site I know, that detail and actually help you to clean your computer and LEARN from the experience.
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Permalink Reply by David King on
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Oh, they do Dan, I'm sure Facebook do, without that Facebook and A LOT of sites would just become servers that hold and serve spam.
You said, "So then, in view of that, they are actually a carrier/spreader of cyber fungus. Nice going FussBook." But this new program effectively creates a new barrier and helps to prevent the spread of a virus and/or spam creating malware across such a large platform like Facebook, that does create a heck of a lot of problems across the world. Like I said to Maurice, Facebook is the ONLY social networking site I know, that detail and actually help you to clean your computer and LEARN from the experience so you don't fall prey to anything like it again.
Facebook really is the only site I know that takes such care with it's users security and privacy and shows true dedication in keeping it secure but at the same time giving you the option to make your own choices on what you want to share.
© 2012 Created by Chris Pirillo.
