The Erin Andrews video peep malware
How hackers helped slow the spread of video that violated the privacy of the sexy ESPN reporter

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Hackers aren't completely evil, said Matthew Hines in eWeek. By hiding malware in phony links to the Erin Andrews video peep clips, they discouraged legions of drooling Internet users from trying to download the illegal footage. The peephole footage—showing the lovely ESPN reporter naked in a hotel room—was a gross invasion of privacy, but a lot more people would have seen it if malware distributors hadn't scared them off.
"Anyone who searches for the video now is likely to get infected," said Alex Goldman in Internet News. Malware purveyors have set up infected websites offering links to the nude Erin Andrews video peep clips, and they appear legitimate—including "a skilled knockoff of CNN.com." Some of the sites, according to Internet security specialist Sophos, have installed the OSX/Jahlav-C Trojan horse on Macintosh computers, and several different viruses on Windows PCs, including Mal/EncPk-IF, a piece of malware, and Mal/FakeAV-AY, a rogue anti-virus system."
The amazing thing, said Bruce Arthur in Canada's National Post, is that the threat of infection with a bad computer virus hasn't stopped hordes of peeping Toms from trying to watch the Erin Andrews video peep clips (although many may have been foiled by spelling her name "Aaron Andrews"). The hunt is on for the culprit who shot the footage and posted it online, but everyone who watched the video is an accomplice in this "voyeuristic equivalent of rape."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Many online viewers don’t realize they are actually breaking the law," said Edecio Martinez in CBS News. Lisa Bloom, a CBS News legal analyst, said on "The Early Show" that downloading or watching the nude Erin Andrews video peep footage is illegal. "Its like buying or selling stolen property," Bloom said. "If you know you are buying something that was stolen... you could be liable criminally and civilly."
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Will the US keep aiding Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Republicans give Volodymyr Zelenskyy a 'cold shoulder' in D.C.
By Joel Mathis Published
-
Is it time to end the China trade war?
Talking Point The U.S. aims to dial down China trade tensions after years of tit-for-tat tariffs and bans on advanced technology sales
By Harold Maass Published
-
Priced out
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published