What is Facebook Fan Check?

Facebook Fan Check is a Facebook application that claims it will tell you who has been viewing your Facebook profile and how often. The application itself cannot log or track profile visits so it cannot tell directly who is visiting your profile. Instead, it relies on interaction between wall posts, photo comments, status comments, or any other communique or information exchange that can be read by anyone with viewing rights to the profile.

In early September 2009, rumors began to circulate that Facebook Fan Check is actually a virus. Facebook Fan Check is not a virus, but the application has come under criticism for having software glitches that reportedly mess up your profile display. The rumors sparked a surge in google hits for "Facebook Fan Check Virus" when concerned Facebook users went to investigate. Cleverly, it would seem, the initial spreaders of the virus hoax set up blogs and websites that provide links to what they claim are anti-virus software programs, system registry cleaners, and/or removal tools for the nonexistent Facebook Fan Check Virus. In reality, the links download malware themselves.

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