You’ve seen Facebook viruses. You’ve gulped at the sinking feeling in your stomach when you clicked on a link that you thought was legit but might have been spam. You’ve deleted random emails immediately, praying that your computer would not be affected by the blue screen of death. We’re all used to proceeding with caution when it comes to technology, but as the number of Twitter users grows exponentially, new challenges are emerging. Suddenly, the Twitter virus is becoming a problem for millions of collegiettes, because the shortened links often look like regular tweets and messages, and that’s just downright sneaky!
What is it?
A Twitter virus works just like a Facebook virus or a sketchy hyperlink in an email. Once you’ve clicked on that strange link, you’re infected, and the virus takes hold of your account, sending tweets or direct messages to all of your followers and people you follow without your consent. Sometimes, you can’t even see the activity on your own account, so you won’t know that you’ve been hacked until someone else tells you about it.
If you’re an avid Twitter user, you know that many people use Twitter to post news articles and links that they find interesting. The bad links often look exactly like those shortened good links, making it difficult to discern which links may be safe to click on.
Amanda First, a senior at Cornell and HC’s Life Editor, was embarrassed to find that she had a Twitter virus last summer. “I clicked on a link that said ‘Is that you in this photo?’ and I ended up sending out direct messages to every single one of my followers and everyone I follow several times, saying ‘I lost weight fast using this’ or something like that. It was really embarrassing because I use Twitter as a professional tool as well as a personal one, and that message ended up getting sent to a lot of past and potential employers. The messages kept sending over and over as fast as I could delete them, but eventually they stopped after I changed my password.”
Common Viruses
Last March, millions of Twitter users clicked on a link that was supposed to tell them the top 20 stalkers that had viewed their Twitter profiles. The virus infected Twitter accounts at a rate of about 159 tweets per minute. Millions of users clicked on that link because it looked like a legitimate, normal shortened link that their friends wanted them to read about.
Recently, there has also been a spread of direct inbox messages on Twitter that say something like “Have you seen what this person is saying about you? Terrible things.”
Eve Carlson, a Bucknell University senior, clicked on that direct message and ended up getting hacked. “I don’t use my Twitter very often,” she said. “I got this direct message from a random friend from high school on Twitter saying something like ‘somebody is saying bad things about you…’ and then there was a link and, like an idiot, I clicked on it! I tried deleting my account but my Twitter kept tweeting things like ‘lose 30 pounds today!’ I got an email a few days ago from Twitter that said they changed my password so I guess the problem is solved now, but it was pretty annoying.”
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Another common virus comes in the form of postings from famous Twitter accounts that have been hacked, like Britney Spears, President Obama and Fox News. If you follow famous accounts and see that they have posted a link that looks like an advertisement or contest, avoid clicking on that link. Hackers target accounts like these because of their large number of followers.
Last March, the French police arrested a man for hacking President Obama’s twitter and posting bogus links to spread the virus. On July 4th of last year, Fox News’s Twitter account was hacked as well, reporting that President Obama had been assassinated at an Iowa restaurant. The tweets were obviously false, but they caused quite an uproar.
Other common viruses include direct messages with questions like “Is this you in this photo?” or “Someone is posting a pic of you all over Twitter!” and “This video of you is shocking.” Some also come in the form of tweets like “Learn how to lose weight fast!”
Once an individual clicks on any spam-related link like the ones above, they are immediately infected with a virus that uses their Twitter account to send out these messages to other users and spread the virus further.
How Do I Know If I Have a Virus?
The Twitter Help Center says that there are two kinds of viruses. Some use your account but still allow you to log in. Others block you from your account completely. If you have noticed unexpected Tweets by your account, seen unintended direct messages sent from your account, observed account behaviors you didn’t make or approve (like following, unfollowing or blocking other users), heard from a friend that your account is sending out strange messages or links, or if you’ve received a notification from Twitter stating that, “You recently changed the email address associated with your Twitter account” (even though you haven’t changed your email address), then your account has probably been hacked.
If you think that you’ve clicked on a virus link, it’s important to monitor the activity of your account carefully, and to check with your followers to see if your account is sending direct messages or tweets without your consent. According to the Twitter Help Center, sometimes you can see the activity, but other times you cannot.
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What Should I Do?
Preemptively, it’s important to try to avoid these pesky links. If you get a direct message, think before you click the link inside of it, especially if it’s a message from someone who wouldn’t usually contact you. If you see a link in a tweet that appears to be strange or out of place, avoid clicking on it until you check in with the individual who tweeted about it. If you are completely aware that the direct message you’ve received is a virus, delete the message immediately.
If you do accidently click on the link, however, then chances are you’ve been hacked. The Twitter Help Center suggests that you change your Twitter password immediately and do a full virus scan on your computer. Microsoft Security Essentials is a free antivirus software for Windows that should do the trick.
You can change the password in the Passwords Tab of Account Settings. Select a password that you have never used before and make sure that it’s a secure password with letters, numbers and symbols.
After you do this, visit the Applications tab in Account Settings and revoke access for any third-party application that you don’t recognize. Often you’ll see applications like “Twitter for Mac” – revoke access to these applications immediately.
After changing all of these settings, you may want to clear your account of unwanted messages and tweets. You should also tweet about the fact that you have a virus, warning your followers not to click on your tweets or direct messages.
If you can’t access your account at all, request a password reset. This should allow you to log in, and then you should follow the steps above. If this still doesn’t work, you’ll need to submit a Support Request on Twitter’s Help Center.
The Bottom Line
The same rules apply for Twitter as they do all over the Internet: don’t click on that unknown hyperlink and you’ll avoid a whole slew of problems. If you’re not sure if that tweet or direct message is legit, tweet back at your friends to ask. Better safe than sorry!