A lot of us are excited about "The Hunger Games," but don't let your excitement lead you to an online trap for malware.
As with any big event and huge public interest, "The Hunger Games" is provoking a lot of online searches for information related to the movie.
Norton, maker of security software, said Friday it has found "a variety of searches related to the movies and books are turning up malicious results."
Although difficult for the average user to distinguish, these 'poisoned' links can instantly infect your computer with viruses, keylogging programs (which allow criminals to monitor your typing) and other software that can wreak havoc on your smartphone, computer or tablet. Ensuing problems can make you feel as though you’re battling against your devices.
So far, Norton says it is seeing "malicious results" tied the film's star, Jennifer Lawrence, author Suzanne Collins, and the trilogy of books she wrote.
A recent security report warned of malware networks ("malnets") "lurking within Google and other search engines, driving unsuspecting Web surfers to sites where they might share their personal or financial information to unintended parties," wrote msnbc.com's Athima Chansanchai, in sharing the findings from Blue Coat Systems 2012 Security Report.
"Choose your allies carefully – Katniss Everdeen wouldn’t trust the people trying to defeat her, and neither should you," said Norton. "Cybercriminals promise sensational content, such as leaked videos, to lure you into clicking on their poisoned links. Better to get your information from a website you trust."
The best thing you can do is use security software, whether it's from Norton or another reputable firm, to alert you to any possibly dangerous websites you might stumble upon, as well as make sure you have the latest version of your Web browser's software.
Norton has a free tool, Safe Web Lite, for safer Web searching; so does McAfee.
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