Harry Potter fans wanting to illicitly download movies such as 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' are being advised to wait until the movie is released. Cybercriminals are reportedly targeting popular peer-to-peer (P2P) networks in order to take advantage of fans wanting to download the movie in advance of its screening.

When a user comes across optimized, illegitimate links to download the movie, they are baited by offers to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince online for "free." When the user clicks the link, they are redirected to an online blog post containing images from the movie.

Streamviewer: Trojan in Disguise

Here's where you need to pay attention:

Clicking on any one of those links redirects the user to an illegitimate site where they are prompted to download and install "streamviewer" to view a sneak peek of the film. Streamviewer is actually a "malware Trojan / dropper file" which, once installed on a machine, proceeds to install malware (spyware) onto the users' computer. (Source: pctools.com)

Download and Purchase Movies from Legitimate Sources

PC Tools believes that streamviewer could be used as a ploy over P2P networks and other file sharing databases in order to capitalize on major events, news stories or movie releases.

Harry Potter fans are being advised to wait until the new movie is officially released in mid-July and to only download and purchase movies from trusted, legitimate sources.

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