Facebook's Newest Move To Tighten Security

Facebook on Wednesday said it is working with Microsoft, McAfee, TrendMicro, Sophos, and Symantec to help improve security for its users.

The social networking giant, which plans to go public next month, has become a target for spammers and scammers due to its size. A similar trend happened to Microsoft's Windows in the 90s and has started to happen to Apple's OS X. Any massively popular platform attracts attackers.

To protect its 845 million users, Facebook is integrating malicious URL data provided by its security partners into its URL blacklist system.

"So whenever you click a link on our site, you benefit not just from Facebook's existing protections, but the ongoing vigilance of the world’s leading corporations involved in computer security," the company explains on its security blog.

Keeping its users secure also happens to serve Facebook's best interests, as the site's reason for being involves sharing as a vehicle for advertising. Sharing becomes a lot less appealing when there's a risk of contagion.

:story: InformationWeek