Streaming 411

People love to get free things or to save the most amount of money that they can.  That's only natural, and in this particularly difficult economy, it's expected that we will cut corners anywhere we are able to.  The Yahoo message boards are filled with people asking each other the question "where can I stream movies for free without downloading or answering surveys."  Apparently, their thought is that as long as they aren't downloading anything, they will be protected from viruses, trojans and other malicious malware.  The problem is that media players need to be downloaded in order to run on your PC.  So if you want to stream movies, you will still need the media player.

Matt Liebowitz of msnbc wrote a timely article about fake video players that promise free streaming, but are really a front for malware.  These streaming media sites are knockoffs of YouTube.  They are often generically titled Web Player, but are home to a Trojan that is identified s "FakePlayer."  This Trojan has been found in several rogue video players on the web, and most famously was recently found in an Android media player app called Movie Player.  These media players are found on sites that have "free" movies or TV shows, but claim to require that their media player be downloaded in order to access the content.  Then, the Trojan is downloaded into unsuspecting consumers' PCs where it can do its damage collecting sensitive personal information.

There are several of these rogue sites online, and the crooks will most likely continue setting up the sites in order to stay ahead of the curve of being identified as a malicious site.  Consumers are encouraged to be mindful of the following trusted advice:

1. Stick with trusted services such as YouTube when you wish to go the free route
   
2. Make sure you have a competent anti virus software program protecting your PC
3. Use common sense - don't give out your passwords or credit card information unless you know the site is trustworthy.
4. Avoid downloading or opening any attachments that end up in your spam filter.  Also, do not click on any links.  Instead, you can copy the link and put it in your browser to see if it is legitimate.
   

Signs that you may already be infected with a virus include:

• Computer takes longer than usual to complete normal tasks
• Several unusual popup windows
• Unusual questions being asked when you try to login to your bank
• Desktop settings have changed