AhnLab discovered a phishing page disguised as a 'YouTube video download site' on the 7th and urged caution.
According to AhnLab, the main screen of the page features the phrase 'Youtube to MP4 Converter' and includes a box where users can enter the YouTube video address. When a user enters the address, a 'Download Now' button appears, and clicking this button leads to a secondary phishing page concealed with malware.
If the download button is clicked again on this page, malware disguised as 'Setup.exe' is installed. The proxyware is malware that allows attackers to unlawfully share the network resources of the infected PC externally to generate revenue, which can cause system performance degradation and information leakage, the company explained.
AhnLab noted that this phishing site can appear at the top when keywords like 'YouTube video download' and 'video extraction' are entered into search engines, making it easy to accidentally access, thereby requiring special caution.
To prevent damage, AhnLab advised that content should only be downloaded through official channels, and to refrain from using websites and file-sharing sites with unclear sources, while ensuring that the latest security patches are applied to PCs, operating systems, software, and internet browsers.
Lee Jae-jin, a senior researcher at AhnLab's analysis team, said, 'Instances of malware being distributed from websites exposed in portal search results are continuously being confirmed,' and 'it is important to be aware that malware could also be hidden in similar sites that claim to offer various file conversion or download functions.'