What is a Facebook Worm?
It’s basically an app/extension that abuses the trust your friends hold for your shared content, to persuade them to install the same app, and thus spread to their friends and so on, and so on. They spread by creating photos, events, videos, sharing links, status updates, sending messages or other ‘creative’ methods.
We’re not going to go through all the hundreds (or thousands) of reasons why recovering from a Facebook worm will help you, your friends, your family or your career, we will instead give you the best and fastest steps to recovering from a infiltration.
Step 1: Lock-down
Stop the app from spreading further. Go to your Facebook Applications settings and remove the malicious/suspicious application.
Note: If using chrome the tricksters sometimes install it as a Chrome Extension: so check chrome://chrome/extensions/ for any suspicious extensions and disable/remove them.
Note 2: If there is no malicious apps there, and you were tagged in a photo or invited to a generated worm event, please share this article with your friend immediately to get them to lock-down their accounts.
Step 2: Recovery
Go to your activity feed and DELETE anything created by the worm. This may be comments, messages, events, photos, galleries, you name it. Deleting these will prevent the spread and recover your ‘reputation’.
Step 3: Change Passwords
It’s always a safe bet to keep changing your passwords often so take this as a hint to change it again.
Step 4: Apologise and help friends recover too.
Your friends trust you, and thus may have been duped by the worm, just like you were. Help them recover by sharing this article with them.
In the future, be careful what you click on or install, and remember to check if it’s an obvious scam/worm.
Stay safe and keep the passion,
Hector