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Technology & Innovation

Red Faced-Book

Computer viruses which “attack your dignity” have been rampaging through social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, sending embarrassing messages to friends and co-workers.

“It used to be that computer viruses attacked only your hard drive. Now they attack your dignity. Malicious programs are rampaging through Web sites like Facebook and Twitter, spreading themselves by taking over people’s accounts and sending out messages to all of their friends and followers. The result is that people are inadvertently telling their co-workers and loved ones how to raise their I.Q.’s or make money instantly, or urging them to watch an awesome new video in which they star. ‘I wonder what people are thinking of me right now?’ said Matt Marquess, an employee at a public relations firm in San Francisco whose Twitter account was recently hijacked, showering his followers with messages that appeared to offer a $500 gift card to Victoria’s Secret. Mr. Marquess was clueless about the offers until a professional acquaintance asked him about them via e-mail. Confused, he logged in to his account and noticed he had been promoting lingerie for five days.”


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