Facebook infected with Koobface virus

Attention new viewers: those 5000 “friends” you have on Facebook? They might not actually be your friends. In fact, some of them might be scammers trying to infect your computer with a new virus dubbed “Koobface”. Koobface, which already made the rounds on MySpace, is now worming its way through Facebook. The Koobface virus uses Facebook’s private messaging system to infect computers via a shared video. Unsuspecting users will see a video link (shared by an infected friend) with the message, “You look just awesome in this new movie.” Click the link will lead you to an outside site where you’re told that you need to download a Flash update, which is actually a virus file. Once the virus is installed, it will try to grab sensitive data off your PC, like credit card numbers.

In a way this a very old virus; it operates much like mass-mailing worms that used to infest Usenet and e-mail lists. But it’s proving an effective tactic on social networks where private messages from friends seem more trustworthy than traditional e-mail, which even the most neophyte web users have come to distrust. With its some 120 million users, Facebook is not only a potentially lucrative target, but it’s well into the mainstream, which means more gullible, less internet-savvy users for virus creators to prey on. The virus watchdog blog for McAfee labs reports that Facebook is aware of the Koobface attack and is already working to remove the spammed links from its system. But with dozens of Koobface variants known to exist, McAfee warns that “the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.” Should your PC be infected the Koobface worm, the Facebook security blog suggests resetting your password and running updated anti-virus software to purge the worm from your system.

Opera 10 Alpha 1 now available

Opera has long been the pioneer of the browser world; many of the features that we take for granted in Firefox, IE and Safari actually began life in Opera. The browser also tends to have the best web standards support around, and the latest alpha preview of Opera 10 is no exception. Although the new Opera 10 is an alpha preview, and not recommended for anything more than testing, its noteworthy for being the first release to grab a perfect score on the ACID 3 browser stress test. The ACID tests are designed to push a browser’s limits when it comes to rendering web pages. The idea is that if browsers can render the ACID test pages, then they should be able to handle just about anything on the web.

Although the ACID 3 test has been around for some time, Opera 10 is the first release to pass it. Apple’s Safari browser, which was the first to pass the ACID 2 test, also passes ACID 3, but only using the developer nightly builds. Of course cutting edge web standards support isn’t the only thing coming in Opera 10. The first alpha also packs in revamped and much faster rendering engine, on-the-fly spell checking for text fields, support for HTML messages in Opera Mail, and an auto-update feature to force browser updates. We don’t recommend rushing out and downloading Opera 10 in its current alpha state, but the preview release is good news for Opera fans. So far Opera has not announced a time line for the final release of Opera 10.

Gmail Google Desktop Gadget Now Available

Windows only (running Google Desktop): If you want access to your Gmail on your desktop (literally) without running a full-blown email client, now you can download the Gmail Google Desktop gadget. You'll need the free Google Desktop software installed first, and then you can dock your Gmail gadget to the desktop to read, search, send, and star messages. The Gmail gadget offers the same keyboard shortcuts that web-based Gmail offers, too. You can even open multiple instances of the gadget and log each into a different Gmail account. The only complaint about the gadget? It doesn't play a sound when new mail arrives. (Though you may thank Google for that one.) The Gmail gadget is a free download and works in conjunction with Google Desktop 5 for Windows only.

Gmail Google Gadget [Official Gmail Blog]

NexusFile Helps You Speed Through File Management Tasks

Windows only: NexusFile is a feature-rich portable Windows Explorer alternative. Weighing in at just under 3MB, NexusFile easily replaces a host of other applications. There is a basic file renamer, an ftp client, and a file splitter/joiner. You can export saved file lists in a variety of formats, assign favorite folders, browser folders in tabs and in a dual pane view, and compare folders. NexusFile has keyboard shortcuts for every imaginable need from jumping to the root folder to executing command line instructions and everything in between. If you have a disdain for your mouse, you won't be reminded of it while working in NexusFile. If you're on friendly terms with your mouse you aren't forgotten, the GUI of NexusFile is very well laid out. Have a set of working folders your access frequently? Assign them while you work to the vertical bar of numbers in between the dual panes. They'll be right at your fingertips from then on. The rest of the interface follows with a similar degree of thoughtfulness. If you need Unicode support for your daily file management, you're covered with NexusFile. If the extremely high contrast color scheme is too much for you, there is a detailed color scheme designer under Tools -> Options -> Color.

NexusFile

Kill off unnecessary shortcuts and re-organize your Start Menu