Another reason not to pirate movies and software 

People who are in the habit of pirating movies and software have something new to worry about.  It seems hackers have begun targeting at least some of them with a ubiquitous form of malware.

On the Dark Web, anyone who is willing to shell out twenty bucks or so can get their hands on a copy of BitRAT, which is a surprisingly capable bit of malicious code for the price.

Recently, an individual or a group of hackers got their hands on BitRAT and devised a new way to spread it around the internet.

 

Windows 10 Pro infected

They disguised their malicious payload as a Windows 10 Pro License Activator.  So a pirate downloads what he or she believes to be a "crack" for Windows 10 Pro. They install the software, and not only do they not get the free copy of Windows 10 Pro that they were expecting, but they also wound up with an infected system.  Ouch!

You may shrug your shoulders at this and conclude that the pirates got what they deserved. Looking at it from an ethical/moral perspective, there's an argument to be found there.

On the other hand, the person with the hacked PC may wind up interacting with and sharing files with you or someone at your company, which could allow the hacker who infected the initial machine to get his hooks into your network. Ultimately, that's why this deserves your attention.

Software pirates are not only bad because of what they do, they're bad business in general. If you associate with anyone who pirates wares (knowingly or not), you may be setting yourself up for trouble down the road.

 

My perspective

This is hardly a new phenomenon.  Pirates are frequently seen as good targets for malware campaigns, and this is but the latest in a long line of campaigns that specifically set their sights on that group.  At the end of the day, it's a numbers game.  The more often you rely on pirated wares the greater your risk of infection. At the end of the day, it's probably not worth it.

 

As far as pirating software - there is no fixing stupid

 


By Denis Wilson

Cybersecurity Expert, Small Business Technology Consultant, Managed Services Provider, Managed IT Support

Thanks for reading this post. I always take into mind that your time and attention are precious. And these posts need to be timely, to the point, and short.

For more tips on thriving with small business technology, check out the other blog posts at DWPIA Blogs. You can also find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

I am also a published author and speaker on cloud computing, work-at-home, and cybersecurity. I work extensively with business and professional associations to provide free small business technology education programs.

 

Contact me if you would like me to speak to your association