Antivirus software provider BitDefender launches the beta version of safego today. Safego is a Facebook app that’s designed to bring Internet security features to social networking.
The timing is good. With an increasing number of malware attacks occurring social networks, more Internet users are probably looking for ways not just to scan their emails for infected files but also to scan their social networking profiles (and their friends’ profiles) for malicious links. Add to these security threats, of course, the ongoing questions about privacy and the inadvertent revealing of personal information.
The safego app checks privacy levels and notifies you about personal information that could be visible to strangers. The app also scans your Facebook wall, inbox, and comments for malicious links. Users can access the “scan now” button to have their accounts analyzed, identifying links malicious links in videos, posts, and messages.
While the app won’t block anything and still requires users actually pay attention to its warnings, perhaps it will stop some folks from clicking on the “LOL, is this u in this video?” sort of links, and notify friends about these sorts of threats.
Interestingly, even with the increasing number of malware attacks via social networking, one of the main messages of the safego app is about privacy. “It’s clear that a large number of people don’t understand how much personal information they’re sharing with the world. The BitDefender safego app makes it easy to identify what’s shared and make the necessary changes,” says BitDefender’s Catalin Cosoi.
BitDefender says that eventually safego will be used on various social networks, but the beta version today is just being tested on Facebook.
