JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Many Facebook users have been getting some unwanted content popping up on their news feeds -- some are pornographic, others violent -- and the virus that puts them there could affect your hard drive, computer experts say.
Virus removing experts such as Thomas Martinage, said he is starting to see this happen a lot. He says it's caused by a chain reaction, of sorts.
"More people start seeing it, more people start clicking on it, and that's how it starts," he said.
Martinage said it usually begins with an innocent looking ad that someone clicks on. The problem is clicking on those ads can send you to a hacker site. From there, indecent images can start showing up on your Facebook wall.
In a statement to WJXT, Facebook representatives said they have shut down the malicious pages and accounts.
"We've put in place back-end measures to reduce the rate of these attacks and will continue to iterate on our defenses to find new ways to protect people," a Facebook spokesperson said in the statement.
Facebook recommends never copying and pasting unknown code into your address bar, always use an up-to-date browser and use the report links to flag suspicious behavior.
Martinage also suggests changing your password to protect yourself against viruses. He says it's a good idea to run an anti-virus program and always let your friends know what happened so they're safe.