[LINK] Specific anti-malware software?

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

In future, as malware becomes more specific & targetted, perhaps this
move by Facebook will be a trend? That is, the larger website providers
also supply anti-crap software for their services, along with membership?

'Facebook Joins With McAfee to Clean Spam From Site'

By BRAD STONE,  January 13, 2010, 12:00 am 
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/facebook-joins-with-mcafee-to-
clean-up-malware-on-site/?th&emc=th


It looks like Facebook has finally gotten fed up with all the viruses and 
spam that is plaguing the social network and ensnaring and embarrassing 
its 350 million members.

Late Tuesday, the company announced a deal with McAfee, a leading maker 
of anti-virus software, to give Facebook users a complimentary six-month 
subscription to McAfee’s Internet Security Suite ..

Facebook will also begin using a McAfee tool to scan the computer of any 
user whose account gets compromised by malware. 

Facebook users whose accounts get hijacked have to go through a 
remediation process. As part of that, they will now have to subject their 
computers to this scan to regain control over their Facebook account.

“We have seen an absolute huge rise in malware worldwide over the past 12 
months, probably more than the previous five years combined,” said David 
DeWalt, McAfee’s chief executive. 

“We are seeing a lot more malware specifically designed and targeted at 
large social networking applications. These are just the trends in the 
industry.”

Mr. DeWalt said more than half of all Internet users still have no anti-
virus software protecting their computers.

Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s vice president of communications and public 
policy, said that Facebook has its own technology that aims to keep 
malware off the site. But, he said, “as security continues to be an issue 
for Facebook and across the Web, we realized that if we really wanted to 
build a leadership position that defines best practices for helping users 
have a safe experience, we needed to partner with other industry leaders.”

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Cheers,
Stephen