It’s probably something we’ve all wished for at one time or another. It’s all very well being allowed to express our approval of a Facebook post, but sometimes you just want to be, well, a bit more negative.
So it’s easy to see why a new ‘Enable Dislike Button’ feature might be appealing. Unfortunately, though, it’s just another scam, which has been sweeping the internet over the last two days.
Users are presented with a message offering to turn on the new feature – and jolly realistic it looks too. The scam’s creators have managed to replace the ‘Share’ button with one reading ‘Enable Dislike Button’, making it appear entirely legitimate.
“Clicking on the link, however, will not only forward the fake message about the so-called ‘Fakebook Dislike button’ to all of your online friends by posting it to your profile, but also run obfuscated Javascript on your computer,” says Graham Clueley of security firm Sophos. “The potential for malice should be obvious.”
The user’s page is also updated with a message reading: “I just got the dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!!”
The main way the message appears to be being used is as a way of enticing users to fill in an online survey, like so many other scams. However, it could also enable much more dangerous activities by running malicious code on victims’ machines.
Users have been calling for a ‘Dislike’ button for years. Over three million people ‘like’ a Facebook page calling for its introduction. Many of the page’s friends have fallen for the scam.
Facebook is unlikely to oblige. The potential for online bullying and the like is just too obvious – and it might not do too much for the company’s relationship with its advertisers, either…
