Virus Turns Computers Into Zombies

If, by chance, you've received a message from a "friend" in the last few days saying that you've been caught on tape, it's not true. Unless you're Paris Hilton.

But no, she's been tossing a dwarf. OK, not really, but those are just two of the scams Facebook and MySpace users have been hit with recently.

The scam works by luring users to a web page that looks like YouTube. The page tells visitors that to view the video, they need to click on another link to download and install updated software. Those who do are installing malicious software.

The worm, called Koobface, turns computers into "zombie" machines that can be used in other types of online attacks. The malicious software may also include keyloggers, which can record a computer user's keystrokes -- and potentially grab passwords when they are entered on a computer.

A virus analyst at computer security firm Kaspersky Lab said that this type of attack is successful for hackers because users are very trusting of messages left by 'friends' on social networking sites.