{"id":65803,"date":"2017-07-20T10:31:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T17:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/?p=65803"},"modified":"2020-10-15T12:17:09","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T19:17:09","slug":"why-bittorrent-sites-are-a-malware-cesspool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/why-bittorrent-sites-are-a-malware-cesspool\/","title":{"rendered":"Why BitTorrent Sites Are a Malware Cesspool"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Why<\/p>\n

Often when people hear “BitTorrent,” they assume it’s illegal and dangerous. While it can be used as a perfectly legitimate system for sharing files<\/a>, syncing files<\/a>, and\u00a0messaging<\/a>\u2014in fact, I use it myself every day\u2014BitTorrent sites in general have a bad rap, but why is that? One word: Malware.<\/p>\n

A lot of apps available through BitTorrent websites are paid products that have either been cracked or that come with a crack that turns it into a fully functional application, without having to pay a penny. “Cracked” software means it has been modified to bypass the registration process or unlock paid-only functionality, so it can be used without paying anything for it. In many cases, demo or trial versions of apps are cracked, so they are extended indefinitely, and the licensing process is cracked to accept any details as valid, or the software may come with a key generator that spits out a name and password that can be used to unlock it.<\/p>\n

These cracks, patches, and key generators are also more often than not the source of malware and, in some cases, the software itself has been modified to deliver malware.<\/p>\n

Is BitTorrent safe to use?<\/h3>\n

The short answer is that the BitTorrent program itself is relatively safe, but like any software that connects to the Internet, it is susceptible to attacks. However, do not confuse the safety of peer-to-peer programs like BitTorrent with the files that are shared through those programs. These files are the real threat. But are some of them safe?<\/p>\n

How safe are\u00a0files shared through BitTorrent?<\/h3>\n

To find out the risks of\u00a0BitTorrent and whether or not files shared through the program\u00a0are as bad as its reputation is made out to be,\u00a0I browsed a few BitTorrent sites and downloaded the popular software they had available (strictly for testing purposes, all of which I promptly deleted after\u00a0testing).<\/p>\n

If every piece of software from BitTorrent programs are malware laden, why would it still be around? Do vast numbers of ordinary\u00a0people risk malware attacks, possible fines and jail time (downloading these kinds of files is illegal in most countries) by downloading cracked software from BitTorrent?\u00a0Surely it can’t be that bad.<\/p>\n

Malware\u00a0like SilverInstaller<\/a>, and ransomware like KeyRanger<\/a> and Patcher<\/a> must be the rare exception. So I took it upon myself to find out, and here’s what I discovered.<\/p>\n

After pulling in several gigabytes of software shared through BitTorrent, I fired up Intego VirusBarrier<\/a> and let it loose on the Downloads folder. The results were shocking.<\/p>\n

Every crack, patch and key generator included in these downloads was flagged!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is a screenshot showing just a small part of the results:<\/p>\n

\"VirusBarrier<\/p>\n

And it’s not just the downloaded software from BitTorrent that poses a risk, the torrent websites themselves try very hard to get extra stuff installed on your system as well. Most time spent on those websites is spent fighting off pop-ups and redirects, each presenting you with tons of fake Flash Player update alerts, scare tactics and more.<\/p>\n

Just a few examples of the things that popped up can be seen in the graphic below:<\/p>\n

\"BitTorrent<\/a>

Merely two minutes torrenting lands you in a malware cesspool.<\/p><\/div>\n

This is just what popped up after merely\u00a0two minutes of browsing torrent sites, not including duplicates! It’s exhausting, and it certainly makes you wonder how people get around to downloading anything at all from these sites. Seriously.<\/p>\n

Each and every cracked software shared on BitTorrent will download malware to your Mac, if clicked. A quick sampling showed several Bundlore<\/a>, Genieo<\/a>, AMC installers<\/a>, and even the recently covered SilverInstaller<\/a> popped up. Quite a few\u00a0PUA’s<\/a> also popping up. Each of these sites also asked me to activate Flash Player in my browser, no doubt looking for vulnerabilities to exploit.<\/p>\n

\"BitTorrent
\nSome of these fake warnings and messages look better than others. All it takes is one to successfully trick a user into installing it, and malware will be brought onto the system.<\/p>\n

The good, bad, and\u00a0ugly of BitTorrent downloads<\/h3>\n

There are good reasons for using BitTorrent, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, but the bad news is it is by far mostly used for the downloading of illegal software, TV shows and games. Both the websites that offer up this content and the content itself are\u00a0a major risk to the security of your Mac and your data.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, your Internet service provider may also disconnect you if they see that you’re downloading illegal software. The ugly truth is you could even get sued by the developer of the software or producer of the show\/movie\/music. Trust me, they keep a close eye on these downloads to see exactly who is infringing on their copyright.<\/p>\n

So is it worth the risk? You decide. But\u00a0take heed: Every user should take extra precautions when using BitTorrent sites. Do you have a different opinion or perhaps a BitTorrent horror story of your own? Drop us a comment below!<\/p>\n

As for the test software\u00a0I downloaded from BitTorrent:\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While BitTorrent itself is not inherently unsafe, the files shared through it (and other peer-to-peer networks) are very often infected with malware. If you think cracked software or other questionable downloads are safe, prepare to be surprised. Here’s what our investigation revealed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":68260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[151,13],"tags":[3565,86],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n