Tag Archive for: Pirate

Study: Bridgerton ‘most dangerous’ series to pirate

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According to a study by data destruction and information security experts Secureteam, Bridgerton is the most dangerous series to stream illegally, as fans eagerly await its return. The study curated a list of 2023 and 2024’s most popular series and returning shows and ran torrenting and streaming URLs through a malware detection program.

Some 70 per cent of torrenting and streaming URLs for Bridgerton were flagged as sites with a critical security risk. These sites contained malware and had been blacklisted by security programs like McAfee, or both. Malware-ridden streaming sites included 1337x.

The top five most dangerous 2023 series and immanently returning shows to torrent and illegally stream are: 

Name of Series Percentage of Medium Security Risk and Above Percentage of Critical Security Risk 
Bridgerton 80 70
The Walking Dead: Dead City 75 35
The Mandalorian 70 30
Only Murders in the Building 45 20
The Last of Us 65 15

Methodology 

To determine the most dangerous shows to torrent and stream illegally, Secureteam started by curating a list of popular shows that were released in 2023 and popular series returning later in the year or in 2024. They then put these search terms into Google, alongside the keywords “torrent”, “stream” or “watch for free”. Example: “Torrent Bridgerton”, “Stream Bridgerton”, “Watch Bridgerton for free”. The top 21 URLs were then entered into Sucuri, a website malware and security checker.

Why are these sites so dangerous? 

“Illegal streaming sites that distribute copyrighted content, such as TV series and movies, with authorisation are ethically problematic and also pose significant risks to users. They typically contain hidden malware that, if accidentally accessed, can have serious consequences for users and their devices. When users visit these sites and engage with their content, they unknowingly expose themselves to potential security risks. Malware on these sites may be present in the form of Trojans, viruses, worms, adware and spyware. Downloaded malicious software may compromise sensitive personal information, including login credentials, private messages and…

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Loop Hero Developers: Russian Players, You Can Pirate Our Game

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Loop Hero developers have recently encouraged their players to “raise the pirate flag.”

Four Quarters, the indie Russian game developer responsible for the surprise hit Loop Hero, is encouraging players to pirate the game if they are unable to purchase it legally. This was the result of the broad range of sanctions imposed on Russia since its specialized military operations in Ukraine in late February.

How to Download Loop Hero

Loop Hero players in Russia and fans all over the world have been wondering how to download Loop Hero due to the imposed sanctions of the U.S. on Russia. They are currently unable to purchase Loop Hero through Steam or the Nintendo Switch’s eShop.

Loop Hero‘s Russian developers encouraged their players that if they are unable to purchase the mystical role-playing game, they can simply pirate it.

As reported by Engadget, Four Quarters wrote, “It is not known when all this will end, therefore, in such difficult times, we can only help everyone to raise the pirate flag (together with vpn) and share the most popular distribution on the rutracker”.

Four Quarters encouraged its players to “raise the pirate flag” and even included a downloadable link of the game via BitTorrent and the Russian torrent site RuTracker. 

Steam and Nintendo have temporarily stopped accepting payments from Russian customers, effectively excluding the entire country from their respective inventories and marketplaces.

According to Kotaku, it was later revealed that the Loop Hero developers are not able to cash in any payments from their players’ purchases. The financial halt comes from Visa and Mastercard pulling out of Russia in participation in the U.S. sanctions against Russia.

Loop Hero‘s loyal fan base initiated another means to support the Russian developers directly. However, Four Quarters stated, “We are very grateful for your support, but the truth is that everything is fine with us, send this support to your family and friends at this difficult time.”

Read Also: Google Chrome Security Update: CVE-2022-1096 a High-Severity Zero-Day Exploit

Loop Hero Update

The Loop Hero update has been slowed, but not completely halted by the ongoing onslaught between…

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When a virus prevents you from downloading pirate series and movies

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An interest Virus Acts as descriptive Computer vaccine. Its function is to block downloads Sites pirates.

Our body often needs a vaccine to fight certain diseases better. Two types of vaccines are used to strengthen our immune system. One of our favorites, the vaccine. This substance contains a virus, the infection of which is significantly reduced. The vaccinated person benefits from effective and lasting protection. A systemic vaccine can work the same way. It contains a computer virus that prevents illegal downloads from illegal sites. These can provide content that hides malware.

Pixie credit

Sophos researchers – a company specializing in IT security – Discovered Strange new malware. It has already affected a number of devices. Its action is similar to that described as a computer vaccine.

Virus that only wants “good”“

Experts are confused about the spread of this interesting malware. Traditionally, a virus pursued a malicious purpose: to hack accounts, retrieve information, or take control of a device or network. The company, discovered by the Sophos team, has no other task than to complicate the daily lives of hackers. In fact, its action is to block access to all illegal download sites such as The Pirate Bay.

Malware spreads on illegal download sites. It is embedded in files downloaded by Internet users. Among other things, such as pirated versions of games Within us Or Minecraft, As well as illegal copies of Microsoft Office explaining Sophos in its memo.

And according to researchers, the virus involved is also very prevalent on the Discord platform.

Once installed, the program blocks access to a large list of pirate sites. Determining its presence on a device is difficult because it leaves very few indications that allow it to be identified. An error message may appear while running the software. The dialog box prompts the user to reinstall the failed software. The malware does not appear to cause further damage, and the IT professionals behind its discovery are surprised.

Also read: 9 Tips to Protect Yourself from Ransomware

Unknown origin

« It is often easy to guess what is driving malware creators, but not with this virus », Sophos emphasizes team member. The origin…

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Sophos Discovers Malware That Blocks The Pirate Bay

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(Photo: Getty Images)

Sophos has revealed new malware with a curious goal: preventing its victims from pirating software. The company says this digital vigilante, which is similar to a malware family discovered over a decade ago, modifies the infected system’s HOSTS file to block access to The Pirate Bay and other piracy-related sites.

“Modifying the HOSTS file is a crude but effective method to prevent a computer from being able to reach a web address,” SophosLabs Principal Researcher Andrew Brandt says in a blog post. “It’s crude because, while it works, the malware has no persistence mechanism. Anyone can remove the entries after they’ve been added to the HOSTS file, and they stay removed (unless you run the program a second time).”

The malware is said to spread via the Discord communications platform by masquerading as pirated copies of popular games. Brandt says it’s also distributed over BitTorrent in bundles “named after popular games, productivity tools, and even security products” that include other files whose sole purpose is to make the malware “appear to have originated with a well-known file sharing account on ThePirateBay.”

After the malware is downloaded it sends two HTTP GET requests to a now-inactive domain. The first request fetches a second payload called “ProcessHacker.jpg” that includes a kill-switch to prevent the malware from operating on devices containing files named “7686789678967896789678” and “412412512512512.” The files themselves can be empty; they simply have to use those names.

The second request “uses a query string to send the filename of the executable that was run to the website’s operators,” Brandt said, which would have allowed them to learn more about what kinds of files people are trying to pirate. That effort appears to have been dropped—Brandt says the server to which the HTTP GET requests were sent “no longer responds to requests, nor has a DNS record.”

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Sophos has updated its security products to defend against this malware. Brandt says anyone who’s already been affected by the campaign can manually restore their access to the websites it blocked by running Notepad as an administrator and “modifying the…

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