‘Game of Thrones’ malware: Hackers can attack your computer using popular TV shows

Hackers and cybercriminals are playing all ir cards to infiltrate your computer system using malware. According to Kaspersky, Game of Thrones’ audience is an easy target for hackers given that many people still prefer to illegally obtain pirated content through Torrent websites. report states that torrent sites are in a “gray-fing-into-black area” and y are obvious choice for hackers and cybercriminals disguising ir malicious files as what people want to downlo.

Generally, scammers are more interested in attacking those looking to downlo software because it must be easier to slip in malicious executable files inste without a user’s kwledge. Of late, hackers seem more interested in TV shows and content. Kaspersky analysed list of TV shows that are more vulnerable to se kinds of malware attacks. Topping list is Game of Thrones, followed by Walking De and Arrow.

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report reveals that re were almost 10,000 s of Game of Thrones-related malware in 2018 and y tried to infect users’ computers over 120,000 times. se stats are strictly limited to Kaspersky users in year 2018 so actual number of attacks around world should be far bigger. Interestingly, hackers mostly slip in malware with first episode of first season of Game of Thrones, which is ‘Winter is Coming.’

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With se s of attackers, paylo may vary. It could be a malware that compromises your system’s security. In some cases, re can be ware or downloers and y are equally b, matter what. report suggests you are most likely to encounter ‘WinLNK’ Trojan that can downlo or malware, and given that Game of Thrones’ final season is dropping on HBO and Hotstar this month, number of attacks might possibly increase in 2019.

How to stay safe

We do t absolutely encour our reers to downlo pirated content from Torrent sites. However, we have a few tips to share on how to stay safe while indulging in se kinds of activities:

1. Pay attention to file size. One episode encoded with decent-quality should t be smaller than at least 1GB. But of course, it depends on visual quality. If file is unbelievably smaller or bigger, you should just stop right re.
2. Pay attention to file extension. Video files absolutely don’t bear .exe or .msi extension.
3. Pay for content. It’s always better to opt for legally obtained content and stream TV shows inste of having to worry about malware, spyware or ware.