The latest rogue virus is Goo.gl. You may find it on Twitter where the malicious link is sent unbeknownst to the sender. The link itself points to a fake anti-virus attack that will infect your computer with a virus. What is sneaky about this virus is that it does not clearly spell out a virus-like name. Instead, it will provide a goo.gl link to click on. When clicking on it, the website ending in “m28sx.html” will be waiting with a virus from the victim.
The new part of this virus is that the link is a shortened URL just like what you’d find on bit.ly, a website shortening service. For instance, goo.gl may be used as a shortened URL for goo.glm28sx.htmlvirus. So, if you click on a shortened link like this, it is easy to be directed to a virus-laden site. The essence of the shortened URL is so tweets may be fit within its limited amount of characters for Twitter. However, users, or link-clickers, must take a leap of faith in trusting these links since they are plainly undecipherable by its shortened form. That’s where these sneaky computer viruses and antivirus worms come into play. They hide within this undiscernable shortened code.
So, be on the look-out for Goo.gl and other suspicious shortened links where you’re unsure of its origins.
