Facebook Malware warning 2021

What is Facebook Malware warning 2021

Facebook Malware warning may either refer to the legitimate Facebook warning about possible malware on your computer, or a fake pop-up that claims the same thing. A couple of years ago Facebook started showing malware alerts when users try to login to their accounts, and it has caused much confusion whether those alerts are legitimate or fake. It was unclear as to what was triggering those Facebook malware alerts, and users were prevented from accessing their accounts unless they clear their computer of the supposed infection. Facebook itself has even admitted that the malware alerts it shows are not always accurate.

The legitimate alert may be triggered by suspicious activity coming from your account, such as your account sending potentially malicious links via messages. However, the alert won’t always be correctly shown to you, so while the alert may actually be shown by Facebook, it may not be a legitimate warning about malware on your computer.

It can also be a case of some kind of potential infection showing you a fake Facebook malware alert to get you to install a questionable program. It’s difficult to say what infection exactly could be showing the fake alerts but whatever it may be, do not download anything that’s offered to you. This is a known technique to distribute fake security programs that either try to scam you into paying money or act as malware. You can tell whether you’re dealing with a fake Facebook malware alert by the site’s URL. If it doesn’t begin with facebook.com, it’s not a legitimate Facebook alert. No matter how threatening or legitimate it may seem, do not interact with it as it will only lead to trouble.

If you are dealing with the legitimate Facebook Malware warning, all you need to do is check your computer for some kind of infection that could be present. You should also look through your Facebook account, check for messages with links you don’t remember sending. We strongly recommend changing your Facebook password. Furthermore, you need to check the list of trusted devices and remove any device you don’t recognize. Finally, turn on two-factor authentication to protect your account further.

Can a Facebook Malware warning be legitimate?

In order to notify users about potentially suspicious activity on the account, Facebook has started showing a notification when users try to log in that informs them that their “computer needs to be cleaned”, supposedly because malware is affecting it. If you know anything about fake virus alerts, this legitimate alert by Facebook should seem suspicious. Especially when you consider how Facebook would be able to detect malware on your computer since it’s not an anti-virus and you’re accessing it from your browser. However, it appears that these alerts are based on users’ activities on the platform. And if you are seeing one, your Facebook account may be compromised.

A legitimate case for this alert to be show to you would be if your account suddenly started sending out spam links to various users, publishing posts with dubious links, spamming comment sections, pages and groups, etc. Since this is typically the behaviour of a hijacked account, Facebook is informing you that there may be something wrong. Once you fix the issue, the alert should no longer appear when you try to log in.

It should also be mentioned that you may come across a fake version of this alert in the wild. There are plenty of cases where scammers use legitimate company names to trick users into interacting with potentially malicious alerts. When browsing, you may come across an identical to the above discussed alert that asks you to install some kind of security tool in order to clear your computer of the malware that’s supposedly affecting it. If you fall for it and download whatever has been offered, you would infect your computer with some kind of potentially unwanted program at best, malware at worst. Fake Facebook malware warning alerts will not have an URL starting with facebook.com so you should be able to tell very easily whether you’re dealing with a fake one.

If you are not aware of this already, you should never download anything from pop-up alerts. Programs should only be downloaded from legitimate sources, such as official websites.

How would a Facebook account become hijacked?

If you are seeing the legitimate Facebook malware alert, your account may have been hijacked and is now used to send out spam links. Your account may be sending links to questionable sites to people on your friend list, which in turn would hijack their accounts, and spam would be sent from their accounts. So if your account is hijacked, you likely clicked on one of those malicious links.

Malicious links that spread via social media like Facebook are usually pretty obvious. The messages contain generic phrases like “OMG is that you in this video”, “look what someone sent me”, “is it you in this video”, etc., followed by the link. The link would lead to websites that either ask you to provide your login credentials or claim that you need to install an update or some kind of program to view the contents.

When it comes to links in messages on social media, always be careful. If it doesn’t look like the kind of message the sender usually sends, be skeptical and inquire about what it is before clicking on it.