Torrent Sites Make $70 Million A Year By Intentionally Giving You Viruses

Turns out online pirates carry more viruses than their seafaring counterparts.

According to Variety, a new study commissioned by the Digital Citizens Alliance and RiskIQ has found that sites sharing pirated content make about $70 million a year by installing malware on its visitors' computers.

Okay, not that anyone particularly thought those running piracy sites were upstanding citizens, but this is a particularly despicable way to make money off the Internet. That’s where we all live!

The study sampled 800 sites “dedicated to distributing infringing movies and TV shows” and discovered that one out of every three sites was responsible for sharing malware. That amounts to approximately 12 million exposed web users, every month.

Malware, of course, is software that infiltrates your computer with the intention of damaging your system or, more nefariously, stealing financial information. Those behind the malware have also been known to “lock” computers and hold users to ransom for its release.

Users don’t even need to click anything to be subject to the malware; the study revealed that 45 per cent of malware came via “drive-by downloads”, which invisibly install on a computer whether clicked or not.

In a statement, RiskIQ CEO Elias Manousos explained how torrenting sites made that estimated $70 million.

“While some torrent sites directly host malicious programs, most torrent publishers and malvertisers use ad and affiliate networks to deliver their exploits and malicious programs in exchange for payment,” he said.

So, yes, another reminder to be careful out there.