We are sure that many of you at some point in your life have come across a YouTube video that explains the solution to the problem you encounter on the computer, either in broken English or by typing the solution of the problem into a Windows text document. This method, which has been used frequently since the early days of YouTube and is reliable for many people, has unfortunately recently become the biggest weapon of cyber attackers.
According to the report prepared by the cyber security firm CloudSEK, almost all of the videos produced with the support of artificial intelligence and aimed at solving problems or promoting pirated software / games advertise software that contains serious viruses. Moreover, some viruses can get through your firewall.
Videos can be prepared in just a few minutes
According to CloudSEK’s research, cyber attackers prepare videos on pirated software in just a few minutes using artificial intelligence tools that we have come across frequently recently and share them on YouTube. By using the YouTube algorithm, the attackers highlight the videos and give the videos a “real” look thanks to the comments created with the support of artificial intelligence.
For example, attackers who make videos of fake versions of pirated Photoshop, Office software, games and even free applications leave download links via shortened links in the descriptions of these videos. When you click on the links, the system firstly learns your IP address and information using your browser and infects your browser, and then when you download the application, the infected files slowly take over your system.
You can get a virus days after downloading the pirated app
While some attackers try to hunt their victims directly, others wait patiently. Hackers, who state that the firewall should be turned off before the cracking process required for the pirated software to work, especially in the videos, prepare the viruses to be active during this process. Some viruses directly bypass the firewall and whitelist viruses.
According to the data obtained by CloudSEK, while the total number of such videos was between 100-150 in all YouTube in 2022, more than 15,000 “infected videos” were circulating on YouTube in February 2023. Moreover, if you are a careless user, there is a high probability that you will easily lose your data or turn your computer into a cryptocurrency mining machine due to the applications in such videos.
While paying attention to such videos, let us remind you that using pirated software is a crime and unethical. Although it is expensive to use licensed software due to the economy we are in, remember that you can burn your system’s graphics card (due to crypto mining) by saving money for months due to a pirated software.
In addition, by using licensed applications of this kind, you will support companies to realize the number of users in our country and to apply local pricing.
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