SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)-- Twitter, the popular social networking site that asks everyone what they’re doing, has now become the target of hackers and cyber-attackers looking to infect your computer.
Michael Sutton, vice president of security research at Zscaler, says the site is being targeted because it’s “the communication medium for the general public.”
“Attackers are after computers and they want to control as many computers as they can.”
KCBS’ Jeff Bell reports
Sutton says Twitter users are often tricked into downloading malicious software when they receive messages telling them to download new applications that promise to upgrade their current software.
KCBS Technology Analyst Larry Magid says this can be an easy trap for any of us to fall into.
“I use Twitter all the time, and to be honest, I do click on links on Twitter because they often lead me to interest articles or Web sites that friends or colleagues want to share with me. But maybe I ought to be more careful about this and not click on links from people I don’t know.”
The good news, says Sutton, is that Twitter officials appear to be taking such potential threats very seriously.
“They are definitely trying to be very proactive and when they become aware of a profile that may be malicious in nature you’ll notice that they’re very quick to take it down.”
Magid and Sutton both suggest that Twitter users should be very careful when following links they have received and to keep your anti-virus software up to date.
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