Fake YouTube malware code on web

A new threat has appeared on the Internet that is faking the popular YouTube site to get people to install malicous software (malware) on their computers.

 A malicious program used to create fake YouTube pages for infecting users is circulating on the web.

YTFakeCreator is a program used by cyber criminals to create fake, look-a-like YouTube pages that can be used to infect users with malware.

Cyber criminals send an e-mail promising a video with sensational content, encouraging users to click a link to watch the video.

Users reach a fake page which is very similar to the real YouTube internet site, but then they receive an error message saying they can not watch the video as a certain component or piece of software is missing, either a codec or an Adobe Flash update, for instance.

The user is then prompted to download the missing software, but in doing so, they actually download the malicious program onto their computers and automatically install it.

YTFakeCreator allows the creation of fake YouTube pages very easily and is becoming more and more popular in the shady world of the cyber criminal. They can enter the text for the error message displayed by the web page and define how long it takes the message to appear. The program also allows them to enter the link to the infected file downloaded onto the victim's computer, and create a false profile similar to those on YouTube to pretend the video has been uploaded by a real user.

The criminal can choose the type of malicious code to be distributed from these fake pages, such as viruses, worms, adware, bots and Trojans.

i7 Comment: We would advise all users to ingore emails from any user that is not known to them, parents should also ensure that their children are aware of the dangers (and vice versa !) of clicking on links within emails. The use of parental controls can also help in stopping the installation of malware such as this.

If you would like advice on the best methods of prevention, please feel free to call us - 01948 820787