Instagram virus Removal

What is an Instagram virus

Instagram virus refers to numerous infections and scams related to social media Instagram. Like any other big social media, Instagram has its own share of scams and malware. Instagram obviously has nothing to do with them, it’s just a convenient platform to spread malware and promote scams. However, all of these scams/malware are avoidable, as long as users learn to recognise the signs.

Users can most commonly encounter the Nasty/Hot/Ugly list scams which aim to hijack other accounts and spread the scam further. They trick Instagram users into clicking on suspicious links which could lead to phishing sites or even malware. There’s also the “Who viewed your Instagram profile” scam that basically wants access to profiles or money. Or the Ray-Ban scam that lures people in with huge discounts and then tricks them into buying from fake websites.

All of the above mentioned scams will be explained in more detail below.

Different types of Instagram virus

Who viewed your Instagram profile virus

When it comes to social media, many users like to know who checks their profiles. On social media like Instagram, that is not possible. However, many users still try to look for a way. This is where a lot of scam apps come in, such as Who viewed your Instagram app. The apps that promise to show you who viewed your Instagram profile are bogus, and if installed, they will merely show random names. Some of them even ask for payment first.

While the Internet is full of apps that claim to have this particular functionality, none of them actually work. And some of them could even be malicious. If users grant one of the questionable apps access to their profile, it could be taken over to show ads and promote weird content or even malware.

The Ray-Ban scam

Ray-Ban are a brand of luxury sunglasses and eyeglasses, and their glasses do not come cheap. Since they’re a popular brand, scammers are luring people to questionable sites by promoting huge discounts for Ray-Ban glasses on Instagram.

These scams first appeared on Facebook but later moved to Instagram as well. When browsing, users would come across ads and posts promoting discounts for Ray-Ban, some posts promising up to 90% off. More skeptical people will immediately know that something’s not right because there is no way anyone would be selling luxury glasses with a 90% discount. If users do click on the link provided in these posts, they would be taken to a scam website that is made to seem like a real online store. Users who buy from these sites end up with no item and no money.

For future reference, if an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The Nasty/Ugly/Hot list scams

The Nasty List, the Hot List and the Ugly List Instagram viruses hijack users’ Instagram profiles in order to spread this scam further. The way this scam works is pretty simple, users receive a message from someone they know or get tagged in post that says “OMG you’re on this list”, “WOW. Your on here! ranked 100”, etc., and it contains a link, supposedly to the list, and if users click on, they are redirected to a website where they are asked to put in their Instagram login credentials. While the site may look like the official Instagram one, it’s actually a fake one created to phish users’ credentials. If users try to log in via the fake website, their credentials are sent to the scammers. These cyber crooks then hijack those accounts and then phish other accounts the same way.

To avoid becoming a victim of a phishing attack, users should never click on unsolicited links in messages and posts. When logging into accounts, users should always check the URL of the site to make sure it’s not a phishing attempt. Those who have fallen for this phishing attempt should change their passwords immediately and turn on two-factor authentication.

How to avoid an Instagram virus

All of the described Instagram viruses and scams can be avoided as long users pay attention to what they click on and stay level headed. Users should never click on unknown links, and learn to recognise hijacked accounts and what kind of messages they send to spread scams and malware further. Those messages are usually more or less the same, some variation of “OMG it’s you”. They try to catch users’ attention with a shocking text that would cause anxiety, which would in turn make users click on the provided link without much thought.

When it comes to shopping, users should always be skeptical of too-good-to-be-true deals that offer huge discounts for otherwise expensive items. The Ray-Ban scam is the perfect example. Glasses that cost a minimum of a hundred dollars will not have 90% discounts like the scam tries to make people believe. If users come across a post that offers huge discounts, they should approach it with caution instead of blindly buying an item from a questionable store. It’s recommended to always check a store’s reputation, whether it’s actually legitimate, customer reviews, etc.

It’s also a good idea to have anti-malware software running on the computer at all times. If users do click on a link that initiates a malicious download, the security program would detect it and prevent it from doing anything harmful.