Hacked Fb accounts belonging to a Brazilian ISP, Mexican sporting items retailer, mountain tourism web site from Slovakia, and a pc restore store within the Philippines are spreading posts linking to malware to customers around the globe.
Avast researchers have found hacked Fb enterprise pages spreading a password stealer known as Redline Stealer, which is able to stealing passwords and downloading additional malware. The malware is accessible for buy on the darkish net for about $100 to $150, making it tough to pinpoint a selected group or individual hacking these accounts.
Brazilian ISP selling free downloads to European Fb customers
We noticed a sponsored submit on a Fb feed just a few weeks in the past that was selling a free Adobe Acrobat Reader. We had been instantly suspicious, because the hyperlink proven within the submit preview was “Mediafire.com”, not “Adobe.com”. Moreover, the submit got here from an organization known as Viu Web.
Viu Web is an web service supplier from Brazil. Greater than 15,000 folks observe their Fb web page. Since August, posts selling free downloads of wallpaper purposes, the online game Grand Theft Auto, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Stray, additionally a online game, appeared on the enterprise’s Fb web page, in English. It’s apparent that the web page is hacked. The model of the posts and the content material the web page is selling are very totally different from the posts uploaded earlier than August.
We aren’t positive if the hackers are utilizing the enterprise’ cost choices to pay for the sponsored posts, or if they’re overlaying the prices themselves and simply leveraging the web page’s group to make sure their posts attain precise folks.
The hyperlinks within the submit result in a file on a storage and sharing web site. To get contaminated, customers must obtain the file, extract the contents, and run the file.
Viu Web is warning folks visiting their homepage that their Fb web page has been hacked. It seems like they’re unable to retrieve entry to their account.
Along with Viu Web’s Fb web page, we’re conscious of some extra hacked Fb pages posting the identical content material. These embrace a Mexican sporting items retailer known as Max Deportes (114,000+ Fb followers), a Slovakian mountain tourism web site named Mladi, gremo v hribe (2,000+ Fb followers), and a pc restore store, Laptop Restore Davao within the Philippines (700+ Fb followers).
We reported these posts and adverts to Fb utilizing the on-site reporting perform, however no motion was taken, but. Avast Antivirus blocks the malware distributed by these posts.
How one can shield your self
- Affords too good to be true are usually no good. The posts promote free entry to in any other case paid-for content material, which is a pink flag. Cybercriminals attempt to entice folks into downloading and working malicious information by packaging them as one thing free and fascinating.
- Verify your sources. The posts selling free recreation downloads and software program don’t match the content material usually posted by the Fb accounts. Earlier than clicking on a hyperlink, ask your self, why is a Mexican sporting items retailer selling free entry to the online game Stray?
- Obtain from trusted sources. If you’re desirous about downloading a recreation or software program, obtain it from a good supply, like from the software program producer instantly, or a trusted distribution service like Steam.
- Report scams. For those who see a rip-off or are suspicious of a submit, report the rip-off to the social community you see it on.
- Use safety software program. Safety software program, or antivirus, acts as a security web, defending even essentially the most cautious customers. As talked about above, Avast Antivirus protects customers from the malware unfold in these posts.
How companies can shield their social media accounts
- Use sturdy passwords. Robust passwords shield accounts from hackers, as a result of they’re tough to brute pressure. Passwords ought to ideally be between 15-20 characters lengthy and embrace a mixture of higher and decrease case letters, in addition to particular characters.
- Use two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication requires customers to enter a second code together with their username and password. This code is often despatched to a cellular quantity or e-mail handle related to the account and might be generated on a cellular machine. If that person isn’t attempting to log in to that account, two-factor authentication also can function a warning system when another person is attempting to interrupt in.
- Control expenses. Commonly verify financial institution statements for suspicious expenses. Hackers who acquire entry to an account with bank card data saved can probably use this data to make their very own purchases.