New Delhi, Aug. 12 (PTI): The government has warned users of Facebook, MySpace and Twitter of a virus spreading through the social networking sites.

The virus, a new worm going by the name “Koobface”, is spreading by sending spam containing a message with a link to a video to the members of these sites, said the apex government body tasked with monitoring Internet security threats in the country.

According to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), which is part of the Centre’s department of information technology, sites such as hi5 and Bebo are also vulnerable.

The virus is particularly dangerous as it uses an infected machine to target other systems, distribute additional malware (malignant software), generate “pay-per-click” advertising revenue and even steal sensitive data, the CERT said on its website.

The “Koobface” works by taking control of social networking sites and spamming friends with messages containing links to sites that lead to malware traps.

Once the link is clicked on, it redirects the user to a website designed to mimic YouTube — but is actually named YuoTube. The user is then asked to install an executable or exe file to watch the video.

Net security firm Trend Micro said social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter had become prime targets of cyber-criminals eyeing the wealth of personal information on these sites.

As more people communicate through networking sites, they are increasingly becoming susceptible to online criminals out to commit frauds, the CERT said.