A new variant of the ?email virus known as “Bredolab” has been identified and is spreading at breakneck speed through the Facebook user base. It appears as an email with the title “Password Reset Confirmation Email” and has an attachment that supposedly contains the recipient’s new Facebook password. The attached file is in reality a Trojan Horse😕 a small program that exists solely to download other programs onto your computer. The program hides its download activity by going through other programs that access the internet legitimately, so your anti-virus may not be able to notice when new files are being downloaded by this virus.
Cleaning up after viruses can be a time-consuming ordeal and even with professional assistance viruses can sometimes re-infect your computer from hidden files, so prevention should always be your first priority. Bredolab is a simple virus to avoid, just don’t open the attachment. Facebook would not send you a password reset confirmation email unless you asked to have your password reset in the first place, and such an email would never contain an attachment anyway.
You should already be protecting your computer with anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, along with a firewall to protect your network from other intruders. These protections are excellent ways to reduce the chances that your computer will be infected, but it’s important that everyone who uses your network also learn safe browsing practices as well. The most important rule of safe browsing: never open an email attachment unless you know exactly what it contains. Other important guidelines include avoiding sites that commonly host malware, closing all pop-up ads with the red “x” in the upper right corner, and never downloading any program from vendors you don’t know.
If you think you might be infected, or if you’d like more information about safe browsing habits and security software, don’t hesitate to give us a call.