Hi Jabber,
It is a real threat. My friend lost about a week of work because she had to have her computer repaired and recover all her files.

Just because it is a real threat, that doesn't mean it will happen to you. There are millions and millions of people using Facebook.

What you have to be careful about are emails sent to you from Facebook (and yes, they are real emails), and they take you to your page (yes, your real page) where someone has commented about something that will intrigue you and you follow the link. It's that link that could get you into trouble.

In this case, the link took us to a video to watch and asked us to update our viewing software so we could see it. My friend clicked on that link and it was all over for her. Fortunately I knew better and was okay.

There are software programs that these people make that upload all kinds of threats to all kinds of social networking sites, no just Facebook. But Facebook seems to experience more than their fair share.

I stopped using Facebook because of the threat, but I wasn't active on it anyway. If you are active and want to continue doing it, follow these bits of advice:

1. Never click on a link in an email. Go directly to the website and check it out there. (That didn't help on this Facebook virus, but it will on others)

2. Never click a link that seems suspicious, especially when it want's you to download updates. If you think you need updates, then go to that particluar company's website and update from there.

3. Before you click or open anything that you're suspicious about, ask yourself - - Can I afford to have my computer crash now? Is it really worth it?

4. Remember, just because an email comes to you from a friend on Facebook, that doesn't mean your friend really sent it. Always go to the site directly, and be cautious at all times.

Good luck Jabber!! And get back in there with your granddaughters with caution.

Take care,
Kathy