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　　Meta found hundreds of malware that steal user information.

　　On October 7, local time, Meta, the parent company of Facebook (Facebook), issued an announcement on its official website, saying that security experts have discovered more than 400 pieces of malware to steal users' information on the Facebook platform by disguising commonly used software. These malware are often disguised as fun or useful software and published on mobile app stores, Meta said. In order not to be noticed by users, its developers will post fake comments in the comment area to trick others into downloading malware.

Source of malware found by security experts: Meta official website

　　The aforementioned malware is often disguised as photo editing software, games, and business applications. According to an announcement released by Meta, of the approximately 400 pieces of malware it identified, approximately 42 percent were disguised as photo editing software, approximately 15 percent were business applications, and approximately 12 percent were virtual private network software.

Malware type source: Meta official website

　　Such malware asks users to "log in to Facebook" after installation. Once a user enters an account password, the malware steals the login information and gains full access to that user. Based on this, developers can freely access the user's private information and send messages to friends in the friend list.

　　Meta said the developers distributed the malware in Apple's App Store and Google Play, which is owned by Google. Meta has notified Apple and Google of the incident, and has also issued a warning to Facebook users who may have used the software.

　　Apple said it had removed 45 pieces of malware identified by Meta from its App Store. Google also responded that the Android malware found by Meta had all been removed, and that in the year prior to receiving the notification, Google had found and removed most of the problematic software.

　　The US technology media WIRED pointed out that the above two companies are working hard to supervise their official app stores, but they still face challenges from all sides. For Google, Android's open ecosystem means users can freely download software from third-party platforms, which greatly increases the risk of users encountering malware.

　　The closed iOS system used by Apple keeps users safe from rogue software from outside the Apple App Store. But all users have to get the software from Apple, which makes "listing" malware on the App Store all the more valuable.

　　David Agranovich, director of security threats at Meta, said there are many legitimate photo editing software and gaming software in the Apple and Google stores, and such software is very popular. Developers took advantage of this, deliberately disguising malware as popular software.

　　"Users should be vigilant when a piece of software asks for a Facebook account and password," he said. "If you accidentally download malware, change your password and enable two-factor verification."

　　As of the close of U.S. stocks on October 7, Meta fell 4.04% to close at $133.45 per share. The stock price has fallen by more than 60% this year.