Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

Fake Twitter Application Site Infects Your PC

by Kaiser Hwang on March 19, 2009 at 11:28 AM

It was only a matter of time before the iPhone user base got large enough to become a target for viruses and malware. After all, most malicious hackers are looking for a big stage for their exploits, hence the abundance of viruses on Windows machines; however, with many in the fast-growing iPhone user base coming from the relatively virus-free group of Linux and Mac, these users, unaccustomed to having to deal with malware, might be the perfect demographic for new viruses.

Take a look at the Web site for iPhone app TweetFollow, for instance. While its official Web site URL is 'b1te.com/tweetfollow,' some hostile fellows have registered the URL 'tweetfollow.com' (DO NOT VISIT!) and loaded the site with malicious JavaScript that pushes malware onto your PC, perhaps to take advantage of the users looking for information about the useful (and not dangerous) iPhone application.

The exploitative JavaScript in question is named 'app_info_next_312.js,' and the same script can be found on close to 100 other virus-delivering sites. To be clear, the actual iPhone application and its developers are not involved with the bogus site, and the iPhone application itself will not lead you to the hostile site, nor infect your iPhone or your computer with malware. You will only be infected if you go to the site 'tweetfollow.com.'

It can be difficult to avoid a scam like this, but like we always say, use common sense at all times. If you're looking for the official site of an iPhone application, we suggest using the link provided on the app's iTunes description page. [From: Trend Micro]

Related Links:

Tags: iphone, microblogging, security, social networking, SocialNetworking, twitter, virus

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular