Malware and Spam - Why Some Free TV Viewing Sites Aren"t As Free As They Seem
If you use the internet, then you know that there are websites that are out there that will allow you to watch TV for free.
Some of them are legal but independent web sites whilst others are the web sites of the TV stations that show the television shows.
Other web sites are not so legal and they are the ones I am talking about today.
Over the years there have been many web sites that have popped up offering all of the latest TV shows that are on the air right now.
The general public loves these web sites because they allow you to catch a show that you might have missed.
And if you do not have Tivo, this is a good thing.
But there is also another side to web sites such as these.
They have to make money and a lot of times they make money by exploiting you, their visitor.
The pay wall One of the ways that they are able to exploit your information is by making you sign up for something to watch the TV shows.
By signing up for something, we mean that they make you fill out a poll and after you are done you must give them your email address.
While this might not be an attack that can hurt your computer, it is something that will lead you to have a lot of spam in your inbox in the near future.
If you wonder how your inbox is always filled with so much spam, this is one of the ways that it happens.
The malware Another way that you are exposed by using these websites is through different types of malware.
Just like they get you to give them your email address to watch the TV show, they will now instead try to get you to click on a link to watch the show.
As you should know by now, clicking on strange links on the internet is never a good thing.
And with legally dubious web sites such as these, it is even worse.
You might not even notice the malware being loaded into your computer system.
It might act perfectly fine but in the meantime, it is taking your data and sending it to another machine.
The link might even put something in your computer that will make you send money to try and stop the attack.
Either way, because you wanted to watch a TV show, your computer is now compromised.
Not all of the web sites that you can watch TV on are like this but most of them are.
If you really need to see a TV show that has just aired, there are many ways to do so besides going to one of these sketchy sites.
You can use Hulu as we discussed before or you can go on iTunes and see if they have it available.
These methods might not be as convenient but they sure are a lot safer.
Some of them are legal but independent web sites whilst others are the web sites of the TV stations that show the television shows.
Other web sites are not so legal and they are the ones I am talking about today.
Over the years there have been many web sites that have popped up offering all of the latest TV shows that are on the air right now.
The general public loves these web sites because they allow you to catch a show that you might have missed.
And if you do not have Tivo, this is a good thing.
But there is also another side to web sites such as these.
They have to make money and a lot of times they make money by exploiting you, their visitor.
The pay wall One of the ways that they are able to exploit your information is by making you sign up for something to watch the TV shows.
By signing up for something, we mean that they make you fill out a poll and after you are done you must give them your email address.
While this might not be an attack that can hurt your computer, it is something that will lead you to have a lot of spam in your inbox in the near future.
If you wonder how your inbox is always filled with so much spam, this is one of the ways that it happens.
The malware Another way that you are exposed by using these websites is through different types of malware.
Just like they get you to give them your email address to watch the TV show, they will now instead try to get you to click on a link to watch the show.
As you should know by now, clicking on strange links on the internet is never a good thing.
And with legally dubious web sites such as these, it is even worse.
You might not even notice the malware being loaded into your computer system.
It might act perfectly fine but in the meantime, it is taking your data and sending it to another machine.
The link might even put something in your computer that will make you send money to try and stop the attack.
Either way, because you wanted to watch a TV show, your computer is now compromised.
Not all of the web sites that you can watch TV on are like this but most of them are.
If you really need to see a TV show that has just aired, there are many ways to do so besides going to one of these sketchy sites.
You can use Hulu as we discussed before or you can go on iTunes and see if they have it available.
These methods might not be as convenient but they sure are a lot safer.