And the latest Facebook Hoax is…

Folks, I am sick and tired of these time wasting post we have all seen and perhaps reposted on profiles. As a public service, I would like to start debunking these here on this blog. I will provide links to supporting articles where appropiate. As a colleague of mine said, ” ‘I am an Information Systems Security Professional’ ” I always thought that statement was prefaced with don’t try this at home…” well, I preface all these debunkings with that. Oh, and Your Mileage May Vary, void where prohibited, taxed, or restricted. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of federal law. See dealer for details. Coupon has no cash value.

Automation Labs has NOT hacked your profile

Here is a sample HOAX message that you may see:

“IMPORTANT!! HACKER ON FB!! A friend sent me this and I did it an sure enough the same person was on mine..try it and see if they are on yours..I found a hacker on my FB. Follow these step..Go to settings, then privacy settings, then block list, then in person box write-automation log. If someone pops up block them”

and here is my response posting on Facebook:

“ATTENTION Facebook Friends: I am an Information Systems Security Professional. There is yet another time wasting HOAX going around FB. This HOAX has you go to your privacy settings and block every user that pops up for “Automation Labs” or some other entity. This is simply a HOAX. Please stop posting this “warning” to ……your profiles. Please see the article below.”

REFERENCES:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2010/02/03/new-facebook-scare-automation-labs-alert.htm

http://www.allfacebook.com/2010/02/automation-labs-facebook/

I think my response pretty much says it all. Folks, before wasting my time and yours, please do a little research. There is this really cool thing called Google. Google usually knows all. Punch in the uncommon phrase “Automation Labs” and “Facebook.” Guess what, the top articles all elude to a HOAX. This is not limited to just Facebook. Before you click that “Forward” button in your favorite mail program, do a little research and see if it is legit.

Things like this drive a security pro nuts. These things spread what we call “Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt” or simply FUD.  People do not know what is going on and begin to worry. This may lead to reposting the hoax or even canceling their account (I have seen posts where people were thinking of doing it). In additon, people now have an unfounded fear in the security of a website or other service. This just disrupts the flow of information and cause a wave in the reflecting pool of a once semi-calm information sharing site. (We can argue the worth of information sharing later.)

To sum it up, Google is your friend and trust your instinct. If something doesn’t seem quite right, let it be. Do not repost or hit that forward button.

Questions, comments, let’s here them below in the comments.