Revealing a growing number of cyber threats associated with the popularity of online music and videos, McAfee has announced the findings of its 2010 "Digital Music & Movies Report - The True Cost of Free Entertainment". McAfee researchers found that adding the word "free" to searches increases the risk of landing on a malicious site. McAfee also revealed that cyber criminals hide malicious content in music and movie-related sites, and even fan clubs sites.
In the report, researchers outlined several specific threats including the threats of "free" software, MP3s and streaming video, dangerous fan pages and malicious ads that appear even on well-established, reputable web sites. The research found that adding the word "free" to a search for music ringtones resulted in a 300 percent increase in the riskiness of sites returned by major search engines in English. The word "free" in other languages yielded similar results.
McAfee also discovered thousands of malicious and highly suspicious URLs associated with fan clubs or comments made on social media sites, such as YouTube and Twitter. Malicious advertising or "malvertising," where an ad is used to distribute malware or exploit the user's browser, is a common means of infection.
"Consumers are visiting fan sites, downloading movies and reading celebrity news, but generally aren't aware of the risks," said Paula Greve, Director, web security research, McAfee. "They can access 'free' content quickly and easily, but it comes at a price. Consumers must stay aware of the risks and be on the lookout for potential new dangers."
