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How to scan Facebook for suspicious links and users
Learn how to quickly prevent spammers and malware from taking over your Facebook account.
Over the last year there have been many malware attacks on Facebook users. These suspicious links and apps will infect the user's timeline, messages, and even their friends' "walls." Norton offers a tool to help combat these threats, and it's very quick and easy to set up on your Facebook account. Here's how:
Step 1: Open Norton Safe Web for Facebook in your Web browser. If you're not already logged in to Facebook, you'll need to do that now.
(Credit:
Nicole Cozma)
Step 2: Authorize permission for the Norton app to scan your account.
(Credit:
Nicole Cozma)
(Credit:
Nicole Cozma)
Step 3: Further permissions may be necessary to authorize Norton; if so, click the link and then authorize in the pop-up window.
(Credit:
Nicole Cozma)
The results for all links in your timeline will be shown on the next page that loads. If you're lucky, none of the links will be malicious. If not, the suspicious links will be marked by an X or exclamation mark (!), and you will need to take action. Sometimes your friends get infected by malware and aren't aware that they are sharing malicious links to Facebook. In this case, you should always let them know what's going on, so they can remove the malware and associated posts on their walls and the walls of others.
(Optional) Step 4: You can enable Norton Websafe's auto-scan if you want all new links on your wall to be checked for suspicious activity--just click the Enable Auto-scan button and Allow the app permission, if necessary.
This is a great tool to recommend to friends and family since spammers have slipped a few malicious links past some of the most Internet-savvy users. Best of all, this service is free, so why not try it out?
