Erin Andrew Peephole video links spread malware

ESPN sports reporter Erin Andrews never got as much coverage for her game coverage until it emerged that there was a video of Erin Andrews naked, taken through a peephole, floating around the web.

Be careful before searching for Erin Andrew Peephole’s video:

Careful where you place your cursor, you end up with a dirty virus.

The video, which has been removed from YouTube, appears to have been taken with a spy camera through a peephole in a hotel room. It has been speculated that the video was taken in Alabama or Portland. The video was reportedly first posted on Dailymotion.com under a username of Goblazers1. Erin Andrews’ attorneys threatened to prosecute anyone who linked or displayed the video, which, of course, sent Internet searches for the video through the roof of the web.

The video, which was taken without Andrew’s consent, is such an obvious invasion of privacy that even TMZ declared it had no intention of buying or publishing it. The video was reportedly grainy and mundane, showing Andrews combing his hair and talking on the phone. There is nothing worth being a computer virus and that is just what many curious web browsers have gotten themselves into for their problem.

Internet scammers pay attention to Google trends to create websites that may appear legitimate but will leave you with a computer virus.

“Hackers are not lazy when it comes to tapping into an internet search trend, and they have been quick to set up bogus web pages that claim to contain video footage of Ms. Andrews in her hotel room,” said Graham Cluley of Sophos.

How do these malware scams work?

Early scammers prime browsers with keywords like Erin Andrews. Some bogus websites were even spelled like Aaron Andrews, possibly to catch those who were listening to the news and didn’t know how to spell Erin. The pages may even look like a page from a legitimate site like CNN.

Then you can say something like LIVE VIDEO PLAYER BLOCKED, allowing online users to believe that the video was blocked by their pop-up blocker.

This is where scammers get curious and disappointed. “To view your video, please start the LIVE VIDEO PLAYER below” and with one click you have just downloaded malicious malware.

Apple users are not immune

Both Apple and Microsoft users have been infected by these viruses, so be careful where you click. Yes, there are far fewer Mac infections compared to Windows, but that doesn’t mean that owners of new Mac laptops should feel immune.

There have been instances of Mac malware where viewers are promised pornographic photos if they install an ActiveX component. In fact, viewers are rewarded with a Trojan horse and have handed control of their computer over to a hacker.

Some say there is no bad press. Erin Andrews might not agree. But the naked peephole video has been helpful to web users. Trying to “strip” on the web is simply not a safe practice.