With the growing popularity and general ubiquitousness of the Facebook “Like” button, people have been talking about wanting a “Dislike” button too. That’s why when it looked like it was finally being offered, many responded with internet speed by clicking to download the application—only to discover it was a scam.
If you see a post of Facebook that says “I just got the Dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!” with a link, you’d be better off not clicking it.
According to the security firm Sophos, “If you do give the app permission to run, it silently updates your Facebook status to promote the link that tricked you in the first place, thus spreading the message virally to your Facebook friends and online contacts.” That will give you something to dislike!
While Facebook works to block and remove this, and similar applications that promise to allow you the choice to dislike something, they’d like everyone to keep the following in mind:
“…there is no official dislike button.
“Also, don’t click on strange links, even if they are from friends, and notify the person and report the link if you see something suspicious”
Those tips are from Facebook company spokesman Fred Wolens.
The L.A. Times Technology blog reminded us that the Facebook Security Page has more information on how to protect your data on Facebook, and offers words of comfort.
“If you installed the fake app, don’t despair. Just click on the account button, then application settings and disable it. You can also delete the application’s posts to your Facebook wall.”
Facebook Security recommends you read the story from CNN.com to learn more.
Tags: Facebook, Internet Speed