Here's a head up for those of you that have twitter accounts.
It seems that there has been an increasing number of fake twitter emails traveling around the web. These emails appear to come from twitter and have a number of different subjects. Some begin by telling you that you need to change your twitter password. Others will tell you that someone is trying to break into your twitter account.
No matter what the subject is, the email will eventually ask you to click a link and install the "twitter security module".
Do not install this module.
As I'm sure you've guessed by now, this "module" is a virus. After downloading it, it will install what appears to be a protection center. This "protection center" will put icons on your desktop for porn sites and other virus installs. It will even appear to be checking for updates while it actually downloads more viruses to your system.
Not only is this virus detected by just a handful of antivirus programs, it is also very hard to remove.
As a word of caution, do not install anyting that offers computer security unless it is from a trusted source. Using common sense in cases like this will provide you with more security than any A/V program.
Think to yourself, "why would twitter, a website, be asking me to install a protection module? How would a protection module stop someone else from accessing my twitter account?"
Hmm. Doesnt make much sense, right?
So, stay on your toes. These emails are coming from lots of places right now. As a general rule, if you think something is fishy about an email you recieve, don't click anything, and instead, go to the company's website directly. If there is a real issue, it will be there too. Then you know you can trust it.
Until next time, stay safe out there.
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