Oct. 23--For those who are using social networking sites, beware. The cyber world is getting more dangerous every day.

Now criminals are accessing personal information through Web sites that many people use daily.

Outbreaks of viruses have even been linked to popular social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Steve Banister, chief financial officer of Hasty's Communication in Brunswick, says he's recently seen an uptick in viruses.

"We have started seeing a good bit of this," Banister said. "The most prevalent in our customers has been the AV2009/2010 program. This pops up a dialog box that says your computer has been infected and gets you to click for their software. Once you do, you are infected."

When users attempt to visit an authentic Web page of real computer protection, the virus re-routes users to its own AV2009 merchandise with the goal of making money off phony anti-virus software.

Kevin Haley, director of product management at Symantec Security Response, a national company that offers computer safety merchandise, says there are a myriad of threats to those dipping into cyberspace.

"The biggest threats facing users of social networking sites are malware distribution, scams and spam," he said.

Koobface and its associated variants are the biggest malware threat being pushed through social networking channels, Haley said.

He says criminals will often hijack a social networking account.

"Then, posing as someone's friend, they'll post links to malware, usually pretending to be a really cool video or picture that they try to convince the victim they 'just have to check out,'" Haley said. "Once the user clicks the link, they are taken to a site where they are convinced to download an application.

"Most often the site requests them to update a codec so their media player can play the video they came to the site to see. However, in reality there usually is no video and what they just approved to be downloaded onto their computer was a virus."

Social networking sites are dangerous primarily due to the sheer number of people who use them, Haley said.

"That makes them an obvious target for malicious activity as bad guys always go to where the people are," he said. "Couple that with the fact that in a social network, surrounded by 'friends,' we are more likely to be fooled because our guard is down."

Banister fears that this is only the beginning.

"Because of the popularity of these sites, they are very fertile ground for the planting of these rogue programs," Banister said. "Small businesses usually are not as strict about what they allow the employees to access on their work PC's, so this becomes a big problem for the network administrator."

He says the risks are extremely high.

Limiting access to these sites is one precaution, he said.

"When you combine the potential down time due to virus exposure, the potential loss of important data, the potential liability exposure for identity theft, the costs can mount up quickly," Banister said.

"All computer users, for that matter, should be diligent about their surfing habits and look before they click. Most of these criminals prey on the fact that people often do not really pay a lot of attention to the details and just click on the most obvious. A dose of skepticism is very healthy when dealing with these kind of things."

Stay safe:

Web security company Symantec offers basic tips to stay safe on the Internet.

--Always maintain a level of caution around any messages from within a Web site or that appear to be sent by a Web site.

--Use complex passwords and unique ones for each site.

--Maintain an up-to-date browser, operating system and security software.

--Make a habit of looking at what appears in the address line when clicking over to Facebook or any other site.

--Be suspicious of requests to enter your account name and password.

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