Beware of Fake “Look Back” Facebook Pages

a look backTo celebrate its tenth anniversary this week, Facebook launched a feature called “Look Back” that automatically creates a one-minute video summing up a user’s experience on Facebook. It draws from your activity to highlight life events, pictures, video and more. It’s become a popular tool for users to reflect, but, according to Zeljka Zorz, managing editor of Help Net Security, bogus Facebook Look Back pages have been sprouting up that are intended to spread malware to users.

These fake Look Back pages closely resemble the real deal, but as Zorz writes, their URLs reveal that they are linked to domains outside of Facebook. However, even if you accidentally click on one of these malicious links, you can still save yourself from being infected by malware. Most of these links will prompt you to download software that will supposedly create your video for you but, in actuality, is a piece of malware. Don’t download anything you find offered to you via these links.

Whenever you’re prompted to download or install any kind of software or app by a Facebook link, it’s important you closely examine the source before proceeding. More often than not, these downloads are a clear red flag that you are about to download spam or malware. Malicious apps can even steal your personal data upon being downloaded. If you have any reason at all to be suspicious of a link, it’s best to play it safe and simply don’t click it.