Twilight fans searching the Web innocently might get a nasty surprise. It seems certain search results are calling up bum links to some pretty nasty viruses, far worse than any vampire/werewolf conflict.
According to Mashable, search terms that turn out the bum links include “Nude pictures of Taylor Lautner,” “Robert and Kristin kissing” and “Twilight true love.” Of course, given those search terms, it hardly seems surprising.
Clicking on any of the links provided under said search will likely get you infected with a virus or a keylogger, so perhaps it’s best to search for something more benign and vague, like “sparkling vampire” or “Edward Cullen fan club.”
Twilight fans just don’t seem to catch a break, it seems. One could assume it’s pretty easy to target star-crossed fans of the perfect boyfriend, Edward Cullen, but this is all very reminiscent of the Facebook (News - Alert)/Twilight game scam that happened back in April of this year.
According to Internet security firm Sophos, scammers were pretending to link to a game promoting the upcoming movie “Twilight Breaking Dawn,” however clicking on the button marked “Play Now” will result in being “clickjacked” into saying you “Like” the link, thus spreading the link virally to your Facebook friends.
Sophos expert Graham Cluley created a YouTube video that shows users how to clean-up Facebook accounts in an effort to avoid this and similar scams on Facebook.
Perhaps it’s best if users stick to apps, such as Twilight Tracker for iPhone (News - Alert) which gives access to content from all the Twilight movies.
Other popular apps related to Twilight include Vampire Guide to Forks, which presents points of interest, lodging in the Forks area, and other notable locations from the saga. This app uses the iPhone’s mapping technology to create a surreal catalog and map of Twilight points of interest, hotels, and other notable locations. There is also Forks Tour, a virtual photographic tour of Forks, Washington, the location that was the inspiration for Twilight.
Of course, for trivia junkies there is Twilight Scene It, which includes questions based on video scenes from the movie, matching quotes to the correct character and more.
Michelle Amodio is a TMCnet contributor. She has helped promote companies and groups in all industries, from technology to banking to professional roller derby. She holds a bachelor's degree in Writing from Endicott College and currently works in marketing, journalism, and public relations as a freelancer.
Edited by Jennifer Russell
