Likejacking
Encyclopedia
Likejacking, a form of clickjacking
, is a malicious technique
of tricking users of a website into posting a Facebook
status update for a site they did not intentionally mean to "like". The initial concept and code for likejacking were created by a Black Hat World user that goes by the handle izSpK.
The term "likejacking" came from a comment posted by Corey Ballou in the article How to "Like" Anything on the Web (Safely), which is one of the first documented postings explaining the possibility of malicious activity regarding Facebook's "like" button.
According to an article in IEEE Spectrum
, a solution to likejacking was developed at one of Facebook's hackathon
s. A "Like" bookmarklet
is available that avoids the possibility of likejacking present in the Facebook Like Button.
Clickjacking
Clickjacking is a malicious technique of tricking Web users into revealing confidential information or taking control of their computer while clicking on seemingly innocuous web pages...
, is a malicious technique
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
of tricking users of a website into posting a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
status update for a site they did not intentionally mean to "like". The initial concept and code for likejacking were created by a Black Hat World user that goes by the handle izSpK.
The term "likejacking" came from a comment posted by Corey Ballou in the article How to "Like" Anything on the Web (Safely), which is one of the first documented postings explaining the possibility of malicious activity regarding Facebook's "like" button.
According to an article in IEEE Spectrum
IEEE Spectrum
IEEE Spectrum is a magazine edited by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE's description of it is:IEEE Spectrum began publishing in January 1964 as a successor to Electrical Engineering...
, a solution to likejacking was developed at one of Facebook's hackathon
Hackathon
A hackathon, a hacker neologism, is an event when programmers meet to do collaborative computer programming. The spirit of a hackathon is to collaboratively build programs and applications. Hackathons are typically between several days and a week in length...
s. A "Like" bookmarklet
Bookmarklet
A bookmarklet is Unobtrusive JavaScript stored as the URL of a bookmark in a web browser or as a hyperlink on a web page. The term is a portmanteau of the terms bookmark and applet, however, an applet is not to be confused with a bookmarklet just as JavaScript is not to be confused with Java...
is available that avoids the possibility of likejacking present in the Facebook Like Button.