Securing Your Device: Avoiding the Risk of Malware in Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is one of the most popular messaging platforms. However, because of its popularity, it is a soft target for cyber attackers to infiltrate malicious programs such as Trojan, Spyware, Ransomware, and others into different systems.

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Recently, there has been a rise in the Facebook Messenger Virus infection, spread through Phishing scams. Through the Facebook Messenger virus scam, generally, a Trojan named FormBook is spread and installed in the victim’s system.

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In this post, we would learn how to remove the Facebook Messenger Virus and stay protected from it.

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What is Facebook Messenger Virus?

Facebook Messenger Virus is basically a malicious file spread through the Messenger platform. Users receive the nasty Trojan from their trusted connection through a file, for example, a video or a link. In one of the attacks, the FormBook Trojan was spread through an archive file titled “video_13925.bz.” On extracting this file, the FormBook gets activated. This Trojan is pretty harmful to the system as it is designed to steal personal information such as passwords, bank details, keystrokes, clipboard history, and more. FormBook Trojan can also open doors for the entry of other malicious programs like Spyware or Ransomware.

What are the symptoms of the Facebook Messenger Virus attack?

The Facebook Messenger Virus might be hiding anywhere in the system and sneakingly spying on users or conducting other illicit activities. Since it disguises itself in the name of a legitimate and safe process, it is pretty challenging to detect the Facebook Messenger Virus. However, the system shows some common symptoms that might confirm the presence of Trojan malware. Here is the list of those indications:

• CPU usage suddenly rises than usual.
• The system lags frequently.
• Your browser is bombarded with malicious pop-ups.
• A random window is opened without the user’s initiation.
• Redirection to untrustworthy or suspicious sites.

How did Facebook Messenger Virus infect my computer?

As already mentioned, Facebook Messenger Virus is spread through the Messenger platform of Facebook, hence the name. Victims receive the malicious file attachments through their trusted connections which are either compromised or trapped in a Phishing attack. They believe since the attachment is sent through a friend, it can be relied on, and hence they open it and install the FormBook into their system. Sometimes the Trojan is delivered through a link, which looks like a link from YouTube, so victims open them without any suspicion or hesitation.

How to remove Facebook Messenger Virus?

It is essential to get rid of Facebook Messenger Virus as it might conduct many illicit activities on your system and cause many losses. Here are the top ways to remove the FormBook Trojan from the system.

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**Restart your PC in Safe Mode

Windows Safe Mode is the perfect environment to find out and solve critical errors in the system. In safe mode, only system programs and some crucial programs run. Safe mode would most likely kill the applications and its files that try to run automatically on your system. Follow this guide to boot your Windows 10 PC in the Safe Mode.

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Uninstall Suspicious Applications

If the Facebook Messenger Virus is still there on your PC, try to find the culprit application, i.e, FormBook, and uninstall it.

1. Right-click on the taskbar and select the Task Manager.
   

2. Watch out for the applications that are consuming the system memory even though you did not install or launch them.

3. Right-click on the suspicious application and open its file location.
   

4. Delete the file from its root location.

5. Open Control Panel and click on Uninstall a program and check for suspicious apps. One by one, select and uninstall them.

Delete Temporary Files

The temporary files folder can also be a carrier of malicious files. Thus, we recommend deleting all the temporary files and folders regularly for the smooth running of the system. Removing the temporary files would also clear the unnecessary clutter from your system and free up valuable space.

Here are the steps to eliminate thre temporary files:

1. Open the Run command window.
2. Type %temp% and hit the enter key.
3. This run command would navigate you to this path: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Temp, that is, the temp folder.

4. Select all Files and Folders of this folder and delete them. Don’t hesitate to delete them, as they are not essential for any of your tasks.
5. Next right-click on the Recycle Bin and select Empty Recycle Bin.

Reset Web Browser Settings

If your browser is misbehaving because of Facebook Messenger Virus, then reset its settings to default.

1. Open Chrome and navigate to Settings by clicking on the three-dots at the top right.
2. Click on advanced Advanced.

3. Under Reset and cleanup, click on “Restore settings to their original defaults.”

4. Select Reset settings on the next prompt.

5. Relaunch your browser.

Install an Antimalware and Perform a Scan

Manually removing malware can be a tedious task, and it takes a lot of time and effort on our part. Sometimes, it may get irritated for you if you are not much into the technology. There is no need to worry; you can get a robust antimalware like MalwareFox that will scan for malware and remove it.

MalwareFox is a reliable security software that promises to protect your system and helps to handle malware and viruses. MalwareFox will scans, detect, and remove Malware and offers real-time protection. It also protects your PC from most dangerous malware such as Ransomware, Zero-Day Attack protection, Grayware, Keyloggers, etc.

1. Download Malwarefox and install it .
2. Perform a full system scan to get rid of every malware that is troubling your system.

How to Avoid Such Threats in The Future?

In the modern world, as things are getting more and more online, you have to be always mindful to protect your system from malware programs like Facebook Messenger Virus.

Here are some tips for maintaining your system:

1. Never download unknown attachments or click on the suspicious link sent on Facebook Messenger even by your trusted connections.
2. Keep installed an allrounder antimalware program and regularly update it.
3. Do not go for the suspicious freeware downloads. Freeware programs are one of the primary malware carriers.
4. Always stick yourself to secure websites because malware usually chooses unprotected sites to initiate the attack.
5. Try to avoid opening an email attachment from an unknown source.
6. Do not fall into the trap of intriguing banner ads and pop-ups. Just clicking on them can infect your browser with a browser virus .

Can I be hacked by opening a Facebook message?

If you download any malicious attachment or click on any suspicious links sent through Facebook Messenger then your system can be infected with a hacking tool or spyware and your FB account can be hacked .

How do I get rid of a Facebook virus?

The best way to get rid of a Facebook virus is by installing a robust security application like MalwareFox on your device. Other options include uninstalling the suspicious applications, deleting temporary files, and more listed in this post.

2 thoughts on “Facebook Messenger Virus: How to Stay Safe”

1. 
   Mark

December 21, 2021 at 11:22 pm
Thank you, well written, excellent article on viruses and malware.
Question, how much of this info, I suspect all, applies to Android and windows smartphones and tablets?
Reply

• 
  Peter Baltazar
  December 23, 2021 at 11:40 am
  Hello Mark
  Thanks for your appreciation.
  To answer your question, I would say that there are some reports that Facebook Messenger has infected Android devices. You will get almost the same symptoms mentioned in this post. However, removing the malware from Android requires a totally different approach.
  So, for that follow this post: https://www.malwarefox.com/remove-android-malware/
  Reply

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