According to a Kaspersky study , Game Of Thrones torrents include malware in them. Obviously these torrent files are used to disguise malware. These files may appear as television shows, but are actually malicious malware.
Game of Thrones television show was used the most according to this Kaspersky security study. This makes logical sense as that television show at the time was quite popular. Although, I have never watched one episode let alone one minute of a Game of Thrones television episode.
Malicious attackers preferred to use the first and last episode of each season, to embed their malicious malware. Obviously, to avoid the malicious malware, you could just refrain from using torrent websites. However, if you do or download other types of video files, then you can reduce your chance of becoming infected.
You will want to verify the authenticity of the website, torrent file, etc. Also, check the file type. For example MP4, MKV, AVI, etc. If that file has an EXE extension chances are it will run a program on your computer that may very well be malicious malware. Check for and do not download from any suspcious links.
Especially, on a Microsoft Windows computer. When in doubt, refrain from downloading from suspicious links. Also, you could have security software installed on your computer.
However, these days not everything is fool proof. You could get into the habit of scanning your downloaded files each and everytime. That way you avoid the possible computer wrath of malware and even ransomware fucking up your computer so to speak.
This quote from Anton V. Ivanon a Kaspersky security researcher, perhaps wil put this threat into better perspective.
“We can see clearly that malware distributors exploit TV shows that are in high demand on pirated websites; these are usually actively promoted dramas or action series, The first and final episodes, attracting the
most viewers, are likely to be at greatest risk of malicious spoofing. Online fraudsters tend to exploit people’s loyalty and impatience, so may promise brand new material for download that is in fact a cyberthreat.
Keeping in mind that the final season of ‘Game of Thrones’ starts this month, we would like to warn users that it is highly likely there will be a spike in the amount of malware disguised as new episodes of this show.”
Game Of Thrones - Torrents Include Malware Video Transcript