Facebook users are wondering whether the application "Facebook Fan Check" is a virus or not.
(LOIC VENANCE/AFP)Photos (1 of 1)
Is Facebook Fan Check a virus? Careful whom you ask
By Amy Farnsworth | 09.14.09
A Facebook application, titled “Facebook Fan Check,” has generated quite a frenzy on the website, prompting users to ask “Is it a virus?”
The application, which recently appeared on the social networking site, generates a list of top Facebook friends depending on how much they post on a person’s wall or comment on photos.
Already, anti-Facebook Fan Check groups such as “GET FACEBOOK TO BAN FACEBOOK FAN CHECK” and “Let’s get Facebook to remove fancheck!” have formed, drawing between 100 to over 1,000 members.
But are the rumors true? What is “Facebook Fan Check” exactly? And is it harmful?
Currently, Facebook users have posted status messages claiming “…that The FAN CHECK application is a VIRUS that takes 48 hours to kick in. Even if you are tagged in a photo the virus still attacks you. Please inform all your friends and remove/delete this application ASAP.”
The application has grown in popularity since its launch. Last Tuesday, the Facebook Fan Check page listed 12.5 million monthly active users, NetworkWorld reported. Later that afternoon, after a withdrawal of concerned Facebook users, only 6.4 million remained.
PC World reports that the real danger may be searching for a website that will remove this rumored virus:
“Malicious hackers are setting up malware-infested Web sites that falsely claim to remove a virus from a new Facebook application called Fan Check, security vendor Sophos is warning…. [A]s Facebook members use popular search engines to find antivirus information about Fan Check, they are getting results that point to sites that can infect their computers with malwar,” Mr. Carlos writes.
The Internet security company, Sophos, has posted a YouTube video (posted below), demonstrating what happens when you search for anti-virus software to remove Facebook Fan Check. The short video shows that clicking on a link in hopes of removing the application leads to a “bogus” anti-virus software that can take control of one’s computer.
Though Sophos hasn’t yet confirmed if the Fan Check application is harmful by itself, company blogger Greg Cluley writes that “the fear about the application is leading Internet users into danger.”
[H]ackers have set up websites pretending to be about the “Facebook Fan Check Virus”, but which really host fake anti-virus software which display bogus warnings about the security of your computer in an attempt to get you to install fraudulent software and cough-up your credit card details.
In a Softpedia article, the creator of Facebook Fan Check, Janakan Arulkumarasa, a developer based in Hong Kong, defends his application from virus rumors, saying it “is NOT a malicious app. Unfortunately, some malicious developers have been spreading a lie that is – and encouraging people to download fake virus scanning software, which damages their computer. This is very unfortunate, but has nothing to do with us.”
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2. C.M. | 09.14.09
My computer shut down after clicking to view the photo tagged of me that was for the fan check. The screen went blue and it said something about there being a problem and I might loose memory/data. Is this just a coincidence? Because I keep see websites saying that fan check is not really a virus. Whats the deal, did my computer coincidental screw up (it was 24 hours after I had gotten it back from the geek squad fixing it-so idk if that has anything to do with the message), or is this really a virus-anyone have experience? I just clicked it today-so too soon for me to have my proof.
3. driver8 | 09.14.09
I have received messages from people on face book with the same issue Meg went through.But what do I care none of my info on face book is real.
4. The voice of reason | 09.14.09
If you cannot explain, allegedly, how something happens then your really the best person to claim, authoritatively, the cause of your problems is related to Facebook.
6. George | 09.15.09
I ran into this warning while reading the Sunday NY Times. Luckily I’d seen a similar virus called “VirusTrigger” about a year ago. They are a protection racket. If you click yes, they download malware: Trojans, worms Etc into your computer and then try to force you to pay them to remove it. Of course, as soon as you use your credit card to pay them, they have stolen your card number. Instead, use Ctrl/Alt/Del and end task. Then use your own anti-virus to run a scan. I scanned using three different programs and they found nothing.
7. Nicole | 09.15.09
I have used it and nothing has happened. Nothing has happened to me, my friends who were tagged or those who have used it. Typical hype to get people scared.
8. Smokey | 09.15.09
And it will continue to try and attach itself to your account even after you get rid of it because other friends get it daily and it passes through all those. It’s a never ending battle.
9. Juno | 09.15.09
I was tagged by a friend who downloaded FanCheck. I did not download the application myself, although I did comment on hers. A page opened like the one in your video which I refused to click on. The window would not allow itself to be closed, so I had to go into Task Manager to force the browser to shut down. Firefox tends to like to save the site you were last on so I ended up repeating the process again. This time it did not come back. I think I acted quickly enough to protect my system, but should probably have our tech guys go over it to be sure.
10. emma | 09.15.09
i also can say it is true! the same thing happened to me!! i did not search for any anti virus on the net but the same i had loads of messages sent to so many people asking them to click on a link ie about cheep tiffany jewelry!
12. Fan Check Application Virus | 09.15.09
I disagree that it’s simply a hype virus, I’ve seen thirty people in my business today who had similar symptoms on their computers as described by the people in previous comments.
13. semiauto | 09.15.09
Several people have tagged me with fancheck, nothing happened other than the tagged pictures.
The problem seems to be with users, not the app.
15. Andrew | 09.15.09
THIS is the “virus.” It causes an avalanche of messages to be sent, all spread manually by the Facebook users gullible enough to keep forwarding all this junk: —————>
“One Facebook status people are posting on their pages on Monday reads, “Urgent!!! The fan Check application is a Virus that takes 48 hours to kick in. Even if you are tagged in a photo the virus still attacks you. Please inform all your friends remove / delete this application ASAP…. rewrite this message and or copy and paste to all your friends.”
16. Shariys | 09.15.09
The problem is that it’s a poorly-implemented Facebook app, like alot of the others; and malicious code can get into these apps and from there into your machine. Numerous times my antivirus has jumped up and blocked malicious code trying to get into my computer while I was using one or another Facebook app, and I hadn’t clicked on any 3rd-party ads when this happened.
Avoid clicking on Facebook ads, BTW, they’re poison. And alot of them are for scams! No one seems to monitor their ads.
18. Skruffy | 09.15.09
I was tagged by FanCheck, and the very same day, my dog died!
FANCHECK KILLS YOUR PETS!!!!!
20. Joe Caporaletti | 09.16.09
This sounds like a case of a hidden variable problem. Some users are probably affected by FanCheck and some are not. So it may be that it is harmful only under certain cirumstances. It can be extremely difficult to sort this out since someone would have to gather data from a set of both adversely affected and non-affected users. I hope to see some follow-up some day since I’m sure it will be really interesting to see.
21. Juju | 09.16.09
You’ll only get a virus if you don’t know how to use a computer properly. Delete things, don’t click on stuff, and use common sense. The application is NOT a virus. Stuff that it LINKS to could give a virus, yes. But if people are worried about a new window opening, they should have a pop-up blocker on.
23. r4 software | 09.18.09
A word to the wise be careful what you search for when scouring the net for information. It is the fear of the application that is leading internet users into danger….
24. lolomg | 09.18.09
People click on too much stuff ..
Use a hosts file to help block those silly adverts, and dont run executables from facebook or other social networking sites.
And of course keep your AV/Firewall up to date as well as the OS itself & whatever programs you use so less chance of getting hit.
Almost always is some marketing ploy behind all that crap.
Ugh! can’t go anywhere online anymore without someone shoving something in your face in an extremly annoying way (like those “epileptic adverts”) to try & sell you junk.
Heh. The more annoying the advert or delivery method just makes me blacklist that company more & I shall do everything in my power to block it. (usually by adding the entire domain to my hosts file)
Peace at last 
25. Me | 09.28.09
in response to “1. Meg | 09.14.09″.. You HAVE to allow access of ANY Facebook App to even view it on someone else’s profile, so maybe you have your settings set to automatically allow apps. Or you clicked Allow , and not even realized it, as it becomes second nature, because there are so many hundreds of apps on FB.
For everyone else: It’s easy to avoid all this mess: Just have updated antivirus software on your computer at ALL times ! (there are plenty of free ones)
26. Ghetto Flute ChiCk | 10.12.09
The hype is all VERY true… I used Fancheck and immediately afterwards I received a phone call telling me I was going to die in 7 days. Beware users, beware!!!!!!
27. Ghetto Flute ChiCk | 10.12.09
The hype is all VERY true. I used Fan Check and immediately afterwards, I received a phone call telling me I was going to d-i-e in 7 days. Beware users, beware!
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1. Meg | 09.14.09
Personal experience in response to the popular Fancheck warning… I can’t explain to you how it works, but I can tell you that yes, somehow it gets into your account. I was tagged in a Fancheck photo on my friend’s page (I looked at the photo on her page, but I never used the application, I never went to a website for it, nor did I go to a Fancheck anti-virus website). It downloaded itself somehow…as an application on my profile (it was listed in my Applications Settings) and sent out 300+ messages and wall posts to all of my friends on Sunday morning. I can’t explain why or how, but do know that yes, it will.