BitTorrent Sites Hijacked to Peddle the Fake Anti-Spyware Program Security Shield

A number of popular BitTorrent and uTorrent sites have been hijacked by hackers in an effort to spread a phony antivirus application by the name of Security Shield.

BitTorrent is legitimate software that may be utilized by BitTorrent client applications to transfer files much like normal Peer 2 Peer (P2P) file-sharing software does. Various BitTorrent sites, some in the past known for harboring and distributing an abundant number of illegal software or media, have been under scrutiny for years due to the transfer of illegal material. BitTorrent sites are widely known amongst software sharers and even warez junkies as a virtual P2P protocols for the transfer of software and files over the internet.

Sometimes the software transferred through BitTorrent clients is not always what is promised. Recently hackers have targeted many BitTorrent sites, some of the more popular ones, to make sure the file transfer recipients get some rather 'unexpected' software in the form of a fake anti-spyware program called Security Shield. The creators of programs such as Security Shield have always looked for new creative ways to spread the software to unsuspecting computer users. One way that these hackers have recently taken up to spread this viscous software is by hijacking BitTorrent sites. What better way to spread malware than to take various BitTorrent sites which have a history of being the choice methods for transferring malware?

Several BitTorrent websites including two of the most popular ones, bittorrent.com and utorrent.com, have been tampered with by hackers forcing new visitors attempting to obtain file-sharing software to instead download malware. The malware that is being shoved down the throats of BitTorrent site users was found to install the rogue anti-spyware program Security Shield. When installed, Security Shield serves up numerous fake warnings, in addition to requiring that the computer user purchase a tool for disinfecting their system.

Essentially, the BitTorrent hijacking only impacted end-users who downloaded or loaded applications from bittorrent.com and utorrent.com over an initial one hour and fifty minute time frame this week. After the hijacking issue was resolved, Vice President of Software at BitTorrent, Simon Morris, advised anyone who took down apps from BitTorrent to run anti-malware tool to detect and remove Security Shield. Moreover, Morris added that the company sincerely regretted for users who may have been victims of the hack.

The hackers responsible for hijacking BitTorrent sites are not the first and unfortunately won't be the last to take such measures to trick users into paying money for unwanted or malicious software. We live in a society that we must all be vigilant no matter what online services, Internet sites or social networks that we utilize.

Do you use BitTorrent files or clients to transfer applications or files? Have you ever received malware or an unwanted file through a BitTorrent site?