The message about a swiftly spreading virus in Facebook has no truth to it. A lot of Facebook users have been fooled by a message claiming the spread of a virus in Facebook. The message concerns a girl who supposedly committed suicide because of the post of her father on her Facebook wall. In reality, it is actually a non-existent malware.

It has been confirmed that no such suicide has happened. However, the message continues to spread across the popular social networking site. Needless to say, a lot of people are terrified and confused over the spread of such warning. Here is a part of the said hoax message:

WARNING: THERE IS A VIRUS GOING AROUND AGAIN, IF YOU SEE A GIRL WHO KILLED HERSELF OVER SOMETHING HER FATHER WROTE ON HER WALL DO NOT OPEN IT, IT IS A VIRUS AND IT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO DELETE IT, PLEASE PASS THIS ON BEFORE SOMEONE OPENS IT. (IT IS A SELF REPLICATING TROJAN)

Facebook users are fooled into sharing this warning to their friends. They think that by doing so, they are actually saving their friends from the malware risk. What they do not know is that they are only proliferating a hoax about an imaginary (i.e., fake) virus. In the end, Sophos, a net security firm, reports that the hoax is resulting to more troubles than a real malware could cause.

Sophos also says that the troublemakers have taken advantage of the commotion resulting from the fake hoax. They do so by putting up Facebook pages that claim to show screenshots of the supposed Facebook wall of the girl. Upon closer inspection, the pages are actually created to earn cash. They fool Facebook users to answer online surveys that lack repute and are most likely to be scams.

The hoax refers to a girl named Emma who supposedly committed suicide on December 24 in 2008 after she was bullied on Facebook. Closer examination of the evidence of conversations resulting to this "tragic event", show the "Like" button. Any avid Facebook user can testify that the "Like" button is a feature that Facebook started offering only a few months ago.

Malware hoaxes have long existed along with the Internet, even before social networking websites were conceived. It is not surprising at all for troublemakers to use social websites to spread malware, viruses, hoaxes, and even a combination of these. Web users are encouraged to confirm the truthfulness of reports with respectable authorities before they send these messages to their friends and other contacts.

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