14 DAY TRIAL // The famous social network Facebook made another step to protect its users, by banning the 'Secret Crush' widget that apparently attempted to deploy some adware software on users' computers. The report came out a few days ago and, according to figures provided by several security companies, approximately four percent of the total number of Facebook users have already installed the widget. But according to "The Register", Zango, the widget creator, mentioned that its Facebook application was clean and no software was deployed on people's computers.
"At no point in adding the Secret Crush widget to a Facebook profile does the widget install either spyware or Zango software, or even attempt to do so. Any suggestion that Zango software is being 'secretly installed' is simply not true. Moreover, our general security monitoring of the Zango network has shown no abnormal increase in installations - something we would have seen based on the reported usage numbers of the Secret Crush widget", Zango said according to "The Register".
As I've said, the social network blocked the widget from being used by the registered members, because of the reports published by security companies from all over the world.
"Facebook is committed to user safety and security and, to that end, its Terms of Service for developers explicitly state that applications should not use adware and spyware. Users should employ the same precautions while downloading software from Facebook applications that they use when downloading software on their desktop. We have contacted the developers and have disabled the Secret Crush application for violating Facebook Platform Terms of Service", Facebook explained the blocking, according to the same source mentioned above.
In case you missed the news, Secret Crush is a Facebook application that claimed it could offer the name of a secret admirer for the person who adds it into his profile. Instead of disclosing such information, Secret Crush was actually attempting to get users into downloading Zango tools, often known for distributing malware. The infection could spread its files extremely easily, because it required registered members to invite five friends to use the application in order to find out the name of the secret admirer.