The list of sites you should avoid because of the threat of viruses and unwanted malware is almost ingrained in the mind of every person browsing the internet. Not to mention that ultimate rule of don’t click a link on the instant messenger window or e-mail even if it’s from a close friend. Banner ads might be a gateway to a site that installs keyloggers and malware. But there are a number of sites that disguise themselves as good sites to get you downloading their files on your own.
One such example is the fake codec sites. Codecs are most often associated with video and movies. These programs helps your media player translate the stream of data for viewing and editing. It may so happen that you have an old media player and the videos you want to view was encoded using a different program. It may also be that the file format is incompatible with your player, so you need that codec to make it viewable. Your first instinct would be to search for codec sites and download from the first in the list that turns up. They look legitimate, but then they work because of that. The “codec” you download will turn out to be the very files you want to avoid. And this isn’t even limited to codecs. Hackers, knowing how much anti-virus programs are popular, make fake anti-virus pages with the same purpose. So how can we avoid them? We can always check sites like Sunbelt blog that lists down fake codec and security sites on a weekly basis. Or simply download codecs and upgrades from the legitimate sources. it’s much better to be safe than sorry.
[tags]fake codec, spyware, trojans, malware
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