Facebook Offers Free Antivirus Software from Five Different Companies

With people spending more time on Facebook than on the rest of the web and with close to one billion users, you can imagine that the site is a huge target for those wanting to spread malware, spam and so on.

Facebook is taking security very seriously, but all of its measures are for nothing if the users manage to get infected or have their account credentials leaked via other means.

One way to fight against this is to block links that it knows are malicious. Its URL blacklist system has now gotten a lot better with the inclusion of links from five major security software vendors, Microsoft, McAfee, TrendMicro, Sophos and Symantec.

In return for the data, Facebook is now offering antivirus solutions from these vendors for free in the new Facebook Antivirus Marketplace.

"The AV Marketplace enables people to download six-month licenses to full versions of antivirus software at no charge," Facebook explained.