Have You Been Like-Jacked Lately? What It Means and How To Avoid it.

Tweet

Share

Like-Jacking Explained

Defined - Like-Jacking is a Facebook-enabled Click-Jacking attack that tricks Facebook users into clicking a hidden "Like Button" on web pages. When a user clicks this hidden like button it generates a like for the specific website. If a Facebook user is logged into their account the like then shows up on their profile wall as a full story and, of course, in the users Friends News Feeds, where they will now see the story, with the link and may end up clicking it. If friends click the link in the message, it will allow the vicious, viral cycle to continue through their walls and their friends walls as each new victim navigates to the like-jacking site and clicks. Below are some examples of Like-Jacking messages found on facebook currently.

Current Like-Jacking Examples - Be Sure To AVOID Them On Facebook

Important Note: Most Facebook users are unaware that the like-jacking has taken place. The reason for this is that the like button is usually hidden behind a fake video play button or some other object on the web page. Users will instinctively click these fake objects thinking they are harmless. In fact it's possible for a whole web page to be click- jack / like-jack enabled, which means any click, anywhere on the page will result in a click / like-jacking. Click- Jacking can be very hard for average Internet users to detect and for this reason it is important that users pay close attention to the websites they visit. Most websites with click-jacking elements are dangerous period. The reason: You Can't See What You Are Really Clicking. Just imagine if a scam artist can get you to click like button you can't see, what else could he trick you into clicking.

Be Wise: Think Before You Click

What You Can Do To Avoid Like-Jacking

The best defense against like-jacking on Facebook is for you to be extra careful. DO NOT assume your friends have liked weird links on purpose. SLOW DOWN and take a second to ask a friend if they actually know about the like message on their wall before you click through. If you are a Firefox user there is a plugin available which can help you detect like-jacking on websites. Below is the information on that plugin.

NoScript ( Firefox Plugin )

"It allows JavaScript, Java and other executable content to run only from trusted domains of your choice. It guards your "trusted boundaries" against cross-site scripting attacks (XSS), cross-zone DNS rebinding / CSRF attacks (router hacking), and Clickjacking attempts, thanks to its unique ClearClick technology. It also implements the DoNotTrack tracking opt-out proposal by default. Such a preemptive approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even unknown) with no loss of functionality." 

More Info & Download

Mozilla Firefox Add-ons NoScript

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/

NoScript.net
http://noscript.net/

Note: Once you've installed NoScript be sure to enable "ClearClick Protection" on Untrusted and Trusted sites, within it's options menu.

How to Recover From Like-Jacking

If you have fallen victim to a Like-Jacking scam, you need to clean up your facebook profile immediately. You can do this by simply removing the "Like" made to your wall. This will ensure that you do not continue to assist the scam artist in spreading his Like-Jacking ruse to your friends and even further throughout the facebook network. .

How To Remove A Like Message From Your Wall

1. Navigate to your profile wall by clicking the "Profile" link at the top of your facebook home page.
2. Scroll down your profile wall till you locate the like, then click on the little "X" at the top right corner of the message. 
3. Select "Remove And Unlike" from the menu and the message/Like will be removed.

How To Remove A Unwanted like From Your "Liked Pages List"

A few facebook users have complained about the unwanted "Likes" remaining in their "Liked Pages List". This  list is located in your profile info area, in the "Activities and Interests" section, under the "Show Other Pages" link. The problem seems to happen even after following the directions listed above. If this happens to you please follow these direction as well.

1. Navigate to your profile wall by clicking the "Profile" link at the top of your facebook home page.
2. Once on your profile page click "Info" right below your profile picture, then Scroll down to the heading "Activities and Interests" and click the "Edit" link to the right.
3. At the bottom of the Edit Activities and Interests page click the "Show Other Pages" link.
4. The "Other Pages You Like" Dialog Box will open and from there you can scroll through your list of liked pages and remove the ones you don't want by clicking the "Remove Page" Button..

About Black Knight

I am a computer repair technician with over 15 years experience and have been computer security and information privacy enthusiast for the last 4 years. I've helped literally thousands of individuals fix their issues by offering help through various blogs and Facebook pages. I like teaching myself and others new things, and believe in freely sharing knowledge.