MANILA, Philippines - Kaspersky Lab, a developer of secure content and threat management solutions, is warning users of a Twitter worm which redirects users to a rogue anti-virus application.
The recently discovered Twitter worm takes advantage of the microblogging site's shortened links, which are obscure compared to the original uniform resource locator (URL) or link address.
Hackers are able to lure a user into their infected URLs since a user doesn't know what it contains, said Kaspersky Lab malware researcher Nicolas Brulez.
Upon clicking the link, a user will receive a warning that his computer is running "suspicious applications."
He will then be asked to "remove all threats" and download a "Security Shield" rogue anti-virus, which will then infect the computer with malicious programs.
As the Twitter worm continues to spread, Kaspersky urged Internet users, particularly those with Twitter accounts, to be more careful when clicking on truncated links and when downloading programs, even anti-virus software.
The company is also offering a "heuristic analyzer" which can help detect this kind of threat.
