Get ready for a surge of phoney friends seeking your attention on Facebook, Myspace and a host of other popular social networks. According to a new report by security provider MX Logic, social network users will see an increase in spam and malware disguised as messages from someone the recipient knows. For example, a message might appear in a recipient’s personal inbox saying, "John just sent you a message on Facebook. Click here to read it." Of course, the link will not take the recipient to Facebook, but rather to a potentially malicious Web site.

This report also says health-care-related spam continues to be the leader in spam. And, as the debate about U.S. health care reform rages on, there is a strong chance that you will see forms of political "hacktivism" affecting the performance and availability of popular social networking sites. These highly concentrated attacks are becoming more common, and typically center on highly controversial or political issues, hence their name.