Report: Cybercriminals using Game of Thrones torrents to spread malware

Game of Thrones tops the charts when it comes to fans downloading illegal copies of the episodes on the internet. For example, the first four episodes of season 5 leaked back in 2015, and a couple of season 7 episodes got out back in 2017. Some fans opted not to download illegally, but a whole lot of others did. The temptation is awfully strong.

With season 8 just days away, fans are on the lookout for any leaked materials. But before you go download a torrent of the season premiere, cyber security firm Kaspersky has something to tell you. According to their report, hackers take advantage of the fact that so many people are interested in Game of Thrones. The show was linked with about 17% of corrupt and infected files in 2018, and keep in mind that there wasn’t a single new episode that year. Malware was most commonly attached to the first and last episodes of each season.

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Kaspersky also found 33 threats within the torrented episode files. Is it really worth it? Some might say yes, because, you know, Game of Thrones. The ultimate decision to torrent episodes is up to the user, but both The Next Web and Kaspersky recommend being mindful before downloading. And if you’re going to do, be smart about it:

"First, make sure it’s a legit torrent site, not a clone with a slight misspelling meant to trick users. And if you’re downloading a show illegally, be sure you’re using a format meant for video, not one ending in .exe or another executable file format."

Over 20,000 people were affected by malware from downloading Game of Thrones episodes in 2018. They may not seem like much, but all it takes is one click…

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h/t The Next Web