FaceBook say : "Your Linux Machine may be infected" ! (Solved)

[Jørn Rudolph]

I never heard that before ...FaceBook say : "Your Linux Machine may be infected" !
And "You should scan with a Virus scanner"
????
I have just formatted the PC. Who is stationary.
And I have only Linux Mint on the machine.
I do not use Wine ...
Is this serious ?

[Schultz]

Is it a pop-up on Facebook? Or what? I'd be interested in seeing a screenshot. If there are links on whatever it is, I definitely would NOT click on them!

[jimallyn]

I would also like to see a screenshot of that. My guess is that it is a paid advertisement. Install the uBlock Origin and Privacy Protector Plus extensions to your browser.

[Mattyboy]

Scam. Pure and simple.

Go on that page with a Mac or a Windows machine and It'll tell you there is a virus on that machine too. ( Websites/pages know what OS you're using unless you spoof it ).

I think its highly unlikely this is a genuine page from Facebook and its more along the lines of a fake looking site, like ISP scammers create to trick people into entering their credit card details. Look at the page address ( don't be tempted to post it here to protect others ) it may say "facebook" in it but will probably be preceded by something else with a dot splitting it, typical scammer tactic. As others say Install uBlock Origin and a Privacy Protector in your browser and read up on some basic browser security tips here on the forums.

I've never heard of it happening on a Linux machine, Linux users tend to be more knowledgeable anyway, but a common way to trick people is to install a malicious browser extension that will re-direct to a scam page when certain criteria are met... you go on facebook, it recognizes this then re-directs you to the fake facebook page. So check the extension list in the browser you were using at the time and remove anything that you don't 100% know what it is. Genuine extensions like uBlock Origin, Addblock plus, no script etc will help protect you from picking up these nasties in the first place.

Yeah I'd be interested to see a screenshot too but remember any web page, or indeed lowlife that calls your home, telling you you have a virus is a scam. Don't fall for it.

[phd21]

Hi "Jørn Rudolph",

I just read your post and the good replies to it. Here are my thoughts on this as well.

Do not click anything from the message... just click cancel or x to close the message ...

How are you accessing Facebook through a browser, Messenger for Desktop, etc...? Are you using Firejail for your browser and Internet enabled applications?

What were you doing in FB when you got this message?

Hope this helps ...

[Schultz]

phd21 wrote:
... just click cancel or x to close the message ...

If it's a scam that might not be good advice. I wouldn't click on anything. Remember how MS tricked people with their pop-ups urging people to update to W10? Clicking the X was the same as accepting the offer.

[Mattyboy]

phd21 wrote:
... just click cancel or x to close the message ...

If it's a scam that might not be good advice. I wouldn't click on anything. Remember how MS tricked people with their pop-ups urging people to update to W10? Clicking the X was the same as accepting the offer.

Good point.

Just open terminal and enter

killall firefox

or whatever browser/service you were using. That'll get rid of it.

[Jørn Rudolph]

Thank you VERY MUCH -

A
No, sorry - I do not have a screen shot ...
B
No - I did not click on anything !
C
Well - It came out of "The blue air" - Just like that ... Did not do anything different. (I believe)
D
I have u block Orgin and Cookie Monster. But no more add-ons in Firefox -
Besides that it was in Pale Moon - Where I also have uBlock Orgin + Cookie Monster.
E
I have not seen it again .... (So far)

[phd21]

Hi "Schultz", "Jørn Rudolph", etc...

phd21 wrote:
... just click cancel or x to close the message ...

If it's a scam that might not be good advice. I wouldn't click on anything. Remember how MS tricked people with their pop-ups urging people to update to W10? Clicking the X was the same as accepting the offer.

There is some truth to this, clicking the "x" or closing the pop-up window(s) might also be a trick to initiate executing a bad command. In which case, closing (killing) the browser or Facebook application would be better... If you are using "Firejail" sandboxing application, you should be alright regardless.

A little while ago I had a virus ransomware message in my Linux Chrome Browser which told me not to close anything, so the first I thing I did was to close (Kill) the browser (hit CTRL-ALT-ESC, mouse cursor changes, then clicked the application's window (browser or FB application) titlebar to kill that (similar to "killall firefox" from the console prompt), and then restarted it, and all was ok...

[MintBean]

If Facebook says, it must be true, right?

[Jørn Rudolph]

I THANK You - For your advise ...

Have a Nice day

[Schultz]

There's some interesting info about this at this link: http://jackyan.com/blog/2016/01/if-face ... around-it/

Apparently, after downloading the recommended scanner, some people could no longer log in to Facebook. Comment #16 shows a way around that.

[Rohitasch]

This is what it looks like. Got one for the first time today.