Pirated versions of Game of Thrones,Ireland The Walking Dead, and Arrowcan sometimes contain a nasty surprise. They are among the most popular TV shows hackers use as bait to secretly install malware on people's computers.
On Monday, security firm Kaspersky Lab ranked the top 15 pirated TV shows most likely to contain malware. No. 1 on the list was Game of Thrones, even though the HBO fantasy series hasn't released a new episode in more than a year.
"Game of Thronesaccounted for 17 percent of all the infected pirated content in 2018, with 20,934 users attacked," the antivirus vendor said. "The first and the last episodes of each Game of Thronesseason we analyzed turned out the most dangerous."
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable In total, Kaspersky uncovered 33 different types of malicious threats associated with pirated episodes of Game of Thrones. The TV show's first episode, "Winter is Coming," was most actively exploited.
The most popular attack loads the pirated media, such as torrents, with a malicious Trojan file. The download will look like it contains a copy of the actual episode. But in reality, the copy is a shortcut; when clicked on, it will activate a programming script in a hidden holder to launch malware, with the goal of stealing sensitive data or taking over the whole system.
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Hackers will also try to disguise adware as pirated AVI video files. For example, Kaspersky Lab detected one attack attempting to pass off an executable program using the file name: "The.Walking.Dead.S06E04.FASTSUB.VOSTFR.HDTV.XviD-ZT.avi.exe."
Kaspersky Lab conducted its study by taking volunteer customer data from its antivirus products, and checking how many had encountered malware files with names related to the TV shows. The company's findings determined that TV-show-based malware hit 126,340 users last year. However, total infection attempts in 2018 were down by 22 percent to 451,636.
According to Kaspersky Lab, the decline might be the result of Google downranking torrent websites from its search results, making the pirated content harder to find. More users are also dropping piracy to watch their favorite TV shows over legitimate streaming services, making the attacks less effective.
Still, expect the attack attempts to rise in the coming weeks, with the imminent release of the final season of Game of Thrones. To stay safe, Kaspersky Lab advises users to consider subscribing to legitimate streaming services. But if you have to pirate, the security firm recommends you look closely at what you're downloading and from what sources.
"Pay attention to the extension of the downloaded file. If downloading TV show episodes, the file must not end in .exe," the company said. "Be careful about the torrents you use and do look up the comments about the downloadable files. If comments are unrelated to the content, you are probably looking at malware."
Topics Game Of Thrones
The Mismeasure of Media
Medvedev vs. Nakashima 2025 livestream: Watch Madrid Open for free
Teens prefer iPhones and Instagram to Androids and Snapchat
Save 29% on the Sony WH
'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 4: Why Ellie sings 'Take on Me'
Teens prefer iPhones and Instagram to Androids and Snapchat
A Year Later, You Can Still Upgrade to Windows 10 for Free
Strange Brigade Benchmarked
Dyson V8 Plus cordless vacuum: $120 off at Amazon
AMD Ryzen 5000 IPC Performance Tested
A Typical Wall Street Republican
FreeSync on Nvidia GPUs Workaround: Impractical, But It Works
Here's one good thing about Apple Intelligence: All iPhones will have more RAM because of it
Teens prefer iPhones and Instagram to Androids and Snapchat
The Anatomy of Liberal Melancholy
2019's word of the year is 'climate strike'
How to unblock xHamster for free
NYT Strands hints, answers for April 15
Best Hydro Flask deal: Save $10 on a 24
Nintendo Switch 2 preorder stock April 25: See the retailers accepting orders
'CounterEzekiel Elliot absolutely destroyed a fan who rushed the field at the Pro BowlBarbie saves a planet in new comic series, may save oursESPN's Sage Steele blasted for complaining about airport protestsThis is why you should never, ever leave your phone at work5 times when intolerant India had a problem with BollywoodGoogle employees protest Trump's immigration banMiss Universe contestant proves that no one can resist the music of BeyoncéAngry neighbor writes a savage letter following a horrible partyGoogle throws shade at Trump's 'Muslim ban' with a historical DoodleTeen headed to space camp 'gutted' after being denied U.S entryDavid Beckham reveals the secret to his longThe gorgeous first 'Ocean's Eight' photo is the definition of #SquadGoals'History Is All You Left Me,' our next MashReads book, will break your heartNetflix teases a gadget that lets you browse with just your brainAngry neighbor writes a savage letter following a horrible partyYou can now tell Alexa to place your Starbucks order for inScientists spotted a giant comet spewing gas 2 billion miles from sunWhen these two NBA coaches speak out against Trump, you should listenA Trump Hotels tweet from 2011 is getting trolled post 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for October 11 New Zealand bikers perform Haka dance to honor Christchurch victims 15 things that ALWAYS go wrong on Food Network's 'Chopped' 'Sirens' review: A feat of Lebanese cinema How to delete a BeReal post 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for October 8 Why is Fox News so quiet about Jeanine Pirro's anti Lena Headey posts touching Instagram response to Emilia Clarke's essay on health struggles Bumble partners up with 'Ted Lasso' to bring Bantr to life J.K. Rowling says Dumbledore and Grindelwald had a 'love' relationship This fake Mueller report is the ultimate troll NFL+ streaming service review: Worth the cost or stick to TV? Here's what we know about the Meta Quest Pro and Meta Connect 2022 Twitter asks users to share tweets instead of screenshotting 19 tweets about doing taxes to read while you procrastinate doing your taxes The trans meme community on Reddit is about so much more than jokes Winter coating is the latest dating trend Say hello to this photo of Tim Cook writing on an iPad that was made to be meme'd Meta warns 1 million users of apps used to steal Facebook passwords Dahmer Netflix series: The real story behind Glenda Cleveland