This evening we were alerted to a rumor spreading on Facebook about a new virus called “Knob Face”. Unfortunately we have not yet been able to confirm whether or not this is actually a new virus, however we’ve reached out to Facebook and will post an update once we hear back. Some users appear to be switching the name “knob face” with “koob face”, a virus which was identified years ago. We’ll be sure to update once we hear back from Facebook.
Below is the message that’s being spread:
Virusspreading like wildfire onFaceBook!! It is a trojan worm called “knob face”. It will steal your info, invade your system and shut it down! Do NOT open the link “Barack Obama Clinton Scandal”! If “SmartGirl15” adds you, don’t accept it; it is a virus. If somebody on your list adds her, ……then……. you get the …………virus too!! Copy and paste to your wall
Right now however, if you search for “Barack Obama Clinton Scandal”, all you can find is status updates about the virus, but no links are currently showing up. Our guess is that this could have been a legitimate risk, however Facebook has since handled it. Are you a victim of the new virus or know someone who has been? Let us known. In the mean time, check back as we’ll update this post once we hear from Facebook.
Update
Initial reports suggest this is a hoax. We’re also waiting on Facebook to confirm.
Lol, i'll be sure to watch out for this one
Comment by Helen Gregg — July 13, 2010 @ 9:58 pm
Excuse me? This is a classic Hoax warning. This type of warnings has been around since the invention of e-mail. There is no truth about it, how could it be? Nobody can be infected with anything by adding a specific user to his friends list. Please cancel this posting.
Michael
Comment by Michael Eisenriegler — July 13, 2010 @ 11:59 pm
Reminds me of the Weird Al Yankovic song, "Virus Alert" LOL
Dave.
Comment by Dave Evans — July 14, 2010 @ 4:14 am
LOL! Try Koob Face (malware family attached to sex videos usually but not always) … Not Knob Face … Horrid misspell.
Smartgirl 15 has been around for years and will continue on for as long as people want to keep her alive (LMFAO while saying this) just like the other names out there.
There is no viable threat currently attached to this Smartgirl 15, 14, 13 or whatever number you want to use and no viable threat is attached to any Obama skin flick …
OH BOY! Come on people … be reasonable … One person started this, their friends posted and their friend and so on … Keep your virus software updated, stop clicking on things that dont know anything about and lordy, stop posting things unless you have checked it out personally.
Have a great day and dont forget to smile!
…
Comment by Moggley Boggley — July 14, 2010 @ 6:40 am
I got something last night from somewhere that shut my computer down, I was told it was the blue screen of death. I have to admit I do not know much about computers but my lap top is a paper weight for now. The only place I had been were FB and hotel web-sites; I did not down load anything. I wish I knew what it was and how I got it. If anyone can offer any help I would appreciate it.
Comment by Teresa — July 14, 2010 @ 8:42 pm
Sounds like a classic hoax, but it is verified by wikipedia, with links to all the system protection companies.
Comment by dan lester — July 17, 2010 @ 9:18 pm
Teresa, you got it because you either 1) didn't have anti-virus on your system or 2) you didn't keep it up to date.
I doubt Facebook gave you a virus. You more likely clicked on a link to some other website and infected your own machine. My Avast anti-virus even tells me quite often that many of those stupid "you gotta see this video" Facebook pages are actually malicious websites off the Facebook servers. More than likely, that was the problem.
I can't believe that the author of this article actually missed the biggest signal of a hoax! "Post to your wall" or "forward to everyone". That almost guarantees it.
(or for emails "send to ALL your friends")
Also, just by adding someone as a friend will NEVER infect your machine – I don't care if the person's name is herpes or crabs! You have to physically execute something or visit a malicious website to do it.
Bottom line: visit some place like "snopes.com" to verify stuff instead of this site. It will save you from forwarding bogus info to your friends.
Comment by Thomas — July 23, 2010 @ 3:39 pm