Malware, Business and the Lure of Myspace

From the Sydney Morning Herald another take on the dangers (and business) of social software:

The popular MySpace social networking site is increasingly being populated by malware embedded in fake personal profiles, according to security company MessageLabs.

Once a fake profile has been created, the embedded malware can then be circulated through "friends" lists which have proven popular ways to share music and other media content as well as a means for members to search for others who share their interests. However such lists can now be automatically generated by "bots" who wish to target specific groups on the social network.

Paul Wood, senior analyst at MessageLabs, said: "One problem arises when unscrupulous people create fake profiles, typically of very attractive young girls, with some pictures uploaded. For authenticity, they will often scrape some personal description including likes and dislikes from another genuine profile."

Of course MessageLabs has the solution:
"More than 13,000 businesses around the world, with 5 million users, look to MessageLabs for anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-spyware protection."
A good program that comes for free is Adaware.