Facebook users warned vs. ‘UnfriendAlert’ app

Published June 9, 2015 8:17am

Facebook users anxious to see if they had been unfriended better not install this app.

The UnfriendAlert app does not appear to work as advertised and may have even compromised a user's credentials, Malwarebytes.org said.

UnfriendAlert claims to see if a Facebook user's friend has unfriended him or her—but will require that the user log in with his or her credentials.

"Looking at a Wireshark log for this check however shows that the login credentials are not sent directly to Facebook but to yougotunfriended.com," Malwarebytes' Pieter Arntz said in a blog post.

Besides, Arntz said providing login credentials is already "a bad idea in the first place."

He also noted the application does not show up in the list of Apps on a Facebook user's page.

Malwarebytes advised Facebook users to not just remove this potentially unwanted program, but also change their Facebook password.

"In general it is a bad idea to give your Facebook credentials away, especially to a third-party app. The functionality of this app can also be found in Facebook apps like Unfriend Checker, which seems to make a bit more sense to me," Arntz said.

Malwarebytes said it has determined the UnfriendAlert app is adware and can display ads "not originating from the sites you are browsing." —Joel Locsin/KG, GMA News

Tags: malware, unfriendalert, facebook