Fake Video Codecs Still Going Strong

2 years ago, Blue Coat reported in their yearly security report that the top two sources of malware infection came from the fake video codec and fake a/v rouses. In the fake video codec, a link is posted to a video or the link is emailed out, and when a user clicks on the video (usually sent or posted by a known friend whose account has been hacked), they get an error saying they don't have the correct codec to play back the video and are redirected to a download of the "right" codec, which turns out to be malware. The fake a/v scam is similar, with the user getting an error that they have a virus, and are prompted to download anti-malware software that is in fact malware. Neither of these sources of malware are new and weren't new in 2009 when Blue Coat reported that they were consistently the top two sources of infection.

The trend continues this year, and Zscaler is reporting that fake video codec based malware is still going strong.

It just goes to show you users aren't as sophisticated as you think, and they do need to be protected with a secure web gateway or web proxy that has up to date anti-malware protection.