Social networks have become very popular and there are plenty of them. Is it just a fashion or serious? I don’t know. Will they still exist in 10 years, I don’t know either.

There is something for all tastes, all levels of society and all ages. Whether for professional or personal use, to be use on a computer or a mobile phone, there is a social exchange platform on the web.

What are the dangers?

There is of course the usual one. The contamination of your device by a virus that then spreads through your lists of friends or relationships, as if they were you.

But in my opinion, much more serious, it is a profiling of who you are, based on the information gathered on the web and its subsequent use. This could result in a narrowing of your space in what you already know, surrounded by advertising that is known to interest you and where you only receive information that matches you.

Even if you are very careful, the merging your data is inevitable. This is already being done against our will. Facebook which has bought WhatsApp and Instagram can merge all data. Microsoft does the same after the acquisition of LinkedIn, Skype and Hotmail.

How to try to avoid it

Complete your profile only the bare minimum
Stay discreet
Don’t bind multiple accounts between them.
Don’t use social networking accounts to connect to other websites.

Mistrust is required when using social networks

We have already addressed the basic principles of mistrust with regard to emails. With social networks it’s even worse. Messages are often not intended for you, but rather are meant to make you react … and it works.

So you have to be wary of…
  • … invitations to be friends from perfect unknown
  • … clickable links, whether picture, video, or article. But beware also of those coming unusually from known person, because they may have been contaminated with a virus and they write to you without their knowledge …
  • … the unusual, the surprising, the shocking … which invites you to click to learn more.
  • … if you clicked on an image or video and it does not start and asks you to install an extension for it to work … there is a good chance that it will install a virus instead …
  • … the pirates will do everything to make the message as plausible as possible:

The most generic way to do this is to go through the feelings that everyone shares, and that push for action: fear, love, success … etc.
– Example of a generic message frightening: “This video of you was filmed without your knowledge … it is horrible”
– Example of a generic message about love: “She / he is called X and saw you the other day, I think he / she likes you …”
-Example of generic message on success: “You just won 1000 €! “

Source : http://leblogduhacker.fr

How to manually delete a virus

Here are some simple and straightforward steps to truly remove IT worms that might have been propagated in your browser:

1. Clean with AdwCleaner or Malawarebyte.

You can download them from the repository of PCAtuces.com. Once downloaded, do a scan, then a cleanup, and finally restart your computer. Potential unwanted extensions should have been removed.

2. Reset your browser

This will undoubtedly remove potentially malicious extensions installed in your browser. You can find instructions on how to do this in help section of your browser.

3. Become aware of the risks and remain vigilant

Most of the problems encountered are often due to a click through habit or lack of attention. As already said, you are the greatest danger and also the solution to the problem. So basically, you have to correct your attitude by taking seriously what appears on your screen, and knowing that clicking on a link or video is not that innocent.

(Photos : CC0 @ pexels.com)