How does malware target illegal streams?

Illegal torrents have been the number one enemy for producers and movie theaters. However, time is changing everything. Today, users are switching to streaming movies instead of torrents.

There are many reasons for this change. Firstly, streaming movies means you can see its quality right away. And torrent video can lead to frustration at the end and the quality of the movie is very bad.

In addition, movie streaming is more difficult to enforce legal sanctions than torrent. In fact, for example, in the UK, we have never seen an arrest involving illegal content delivery without the use of third-party additional devices, such as custom video boxes. correction.

Where does malware appear?

This poses a problem for malware developers, using torrents to spread viruses on a large scale. Malware that spreads through torrents has stopped working recently due to 'moving' to streaming content online. However, this is not entirely good news, because malware developers are now also shifting their focus to online content broadcasters!

There are three ways hackers target online streaming: Through third-party devices set up to stream online, through applications for streaming and through live streaming sites. online.

Spread malware through third-party devices

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Some guys make a living by selling custom hardware on the black market. A common hardware of these is the TV box that is tuned to allow illegal broadcasting. People buy these boxes and use them to stream anything they like, even if the feeds are not allowed to stream online as previously mentioned.

Unfortunately, like any black market in the technology world, this raises a lot of problems, such as sellers can easily transmit malware to the device.

The problem with TV boxes is that they often require to go through the home router to operate. Thus, users will have to allow the device to connect to the router and have full access to it. This then opens the door for malware hidden inside, which can use this 'powerful' position to infect the entire network.

Spread malware through the application

People sometimes switch to applications to stream content, so malware developers are also trying to take advantage of this. The fact that malware spreads through the application is nothing new and in fact, we have witnessed a lot of attacks from Google Play itself! However, malware is shifting its focus to online streaming applications. They are designed to keep up with the wave of people moving from downloading to streaming content.

Spread malware through online streaming sites

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It's not new for online streaming sites to be infected with malware. Malware developers use familiar tactics such as phishing and malware infection ads. However, with streaming sites, they can create a website claiming that the latest and best movies are available for streaming, leading users to malicious websites.

A live streaming site may contain large numbers of hidden viruses. The video may refuse to play until you turn off the ad blocker. And at that time, the site will be filled with phishing or malware-infested ads in the hope that you will click on one of them. Websites can run electronic digging tools in the background process or use the DNS poisoning technique to infect malware to the cache.

How to avoid these attacks?

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Of course, there are many ways you can avoid these attacks, such as buying equipment from a trusted provider on the network or using extensions that can block attacks from webpage. However, the best way to ensure high-quality video streaming without malware concerns is to choose official sources.

Not everyone who violates the copyright of movies and TV shows by streaming content also has a bad purpose, because there are people who are not heartless or able to do so. However, it is worth considering the risks of illegal online streaming, especially when malware developers shift their focus to this method. The money saved when buying a DVD box may not be worth it compared to being attacked by malware!

The convenience of streaming has greatly affected torrents and greatly reduced the number of users of this method, thus forcing malware developers to begin spreading their products. on online streaming sites. There are many things you can do to protect yourself, but buying real goods is always the safest option.

Does this make you give up movies and TV shows on unauthorized websites? Share ideas with everyone in the comment section below!