Facebook 'dislike' scam

Many users of the social networking site Facebook have long been asking for a dislike button and now it looks like they've got what they were asking for... or have they?  Be warned, the latest offering of a dislike button on Facebook is, in fact, an elaborate scam.

The scam, reported by the BBC, tricks users into installing a rogue application that then posts spam messages to all their contacts.  The spam messages contain links that lead users who click on it to malicious websites.

The messages will try to get your attention by using messages such as "OMG, shocking video" and they appear to come legitimately from a friend which makes them dangerous because of it.

The rogue application takes advantage of the fact that many users don't properly understand their privacy settings on Facebook and will not know how to deactivate the app later on which, by the way you can do by clicking on the small down arrow icon in the top right corner on the site, selecting settings from the context menu that it opens and there on Apps to display a list of applications.

To remove an application simply hover with the mouse over it and click on the x icon that appears when you do.

A confirmation prompt is displayed then, and when you click on remove there, the app is unlinked from your account.

Once a user has installed the app it then posts a message to their profile along the lines of "I just got the dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!!" in order to try and tempt their friends to install the app too.

You should always be careful what apps you install in Facebook and if something looks too good to be true, it probably is!