Technology
Illegal movie downloads could be hiding dangerous new malware
Illegal movie sites are not the best places to visit on the internet. The fact that they are illegal should tell you that. While the legal consequences of pirating content are a big concern, you also risk getting malware, and not just any malware. Security researchers have identified a type of malware targeting illegal movie downloaders, known as Peaklight, classified as next-stage malware.
Its ultimate goal is to infect Windows systems with information stealers and loaders. Below, you’ll find more details about Peaklight, along with tips to stay protected.
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A person about to watch a movie on their laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
What is Peaklight
Peaklight is a new type of malware that works only in your computer’s memory and doesn’t leave a trace on your hard drive. It’s designed to secretly download other harmful software, according to Mandiant, a cybersecurity company owned by Google.
“This memory-only dropper decrypts and executes a PowerShell-based downloader,” Mandiant said. “This PowerShell-based downloader is being tracked as PEAKLIGHT.”
Mandiant explains that Peaklight uses a hidden PowerShell script to download more malware. Some of the dangerous programs spread this way include Lumma Stealer, Hijack Loader and CryptBot, which are sold as services that hackers can rent to steal information or control computers.
A woman watching movies on her laptop (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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How does it infect your computer?
The attack starts when someone downloads a Windows shortcut file (LNK), often while searching for pirated movies. These files are hidden inside ZIP folders that pretend to be movie downloads.
When the LNK file is opened, it connects to a content delivery network (CDN) that hides harmful JavaScript code, which runs only in your computer’s memory. This code then runs a PowerShell script called PEAKLIGHT, which connects to a remote server to download more harmful software.
Peaklight is designed to run entirely in your computer’s memory, which makes it much harder for antivirus software to detect. Since it doesn’t leave traces on storage, the antivirus would need to scan the memory (RAM) to catch it.
“PEAKLIGHT is an obfuscated PowerShell-based downloader that is part of a multi-stage execution chain that checks for the presence of ZIP archives in hard-coded file paths,” Mandiant researchers Aaron Lee and Praveeth D’Souza said.
“If the archives do not exist, the downloader will reach out to a CDN site and download the remotely hosted archive file and save it to disk.”
Illustration of a scammer using malware (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
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6 ways to protect yourself from malware
1) Avoid downloading pirated content: Stick to legal platforms for movies, music and software. Pirated sites are high risk because they often disguise malware as legitimate content. Even searching for a movie on search engines can lead you to dangerous sites that trigger drive-by downloads.
2) Keep your operating system and software updated: Regularly update your Windows OS, antivirus software, browsers and other applications. Security patches are released to fix vulnerabilities that malware like Peaklight can exploit. Enabling automatic updates is the best way to stay ahead of these threats.
3) Use strong antivirus software: A strong antivirus program is your first line of defense. Choose one that includes real-time scanning, memory scanning and behavioral analysis. Many modern antiviruses scan not only files but also your computer’s memory (RAM), which is where Peaklight hides.
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.
4) Be cautious of suspicious links and files: Don’t click on unknown links, especially if they offer free movies, games or other attractive content. Similarly, avoid downloading files from untrusted websites, even if they seem to be harmless ZIP folders.
5) Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication: Secure your online accounts by using strong, unique passwords for each account and enabling two-factor authentication. This ensures that even if some malware like information stealers try to grab your login data, they can’t access your accounts without the extra verification step. You can also use a password manager to generate and store your passwords securely.
6) Be wary of compressed files (ZIP, RAR): Compressed files are a common method for hiding malware. Even if they appear to be pirated movies, they could contain LNK files or other malicious scripts. Always scan these files with your antivirus before opening them.
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Kurt’s key takeaway
The idea of pirating content can be tempting. With so many streaming services and subscriptions out there, it’s impossible to have them all, which makes piracy seem like an option worth considering. But it’s better to pay up or watch something else. You don’t want your computer to be infected by malware and risk losing your money and personal data.
Have you ever been tempted to use illegal streaming or download sites? What stopped you (or didn’t)? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.
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Technology
Amazon.com says things are fixed after some issues with logging in and checking out
If you were having issues shopping on Amazon or loading your playlists on Amazon Music on Thursday, you weren’t alone. For over three hours today, Downdetector showed a sizable spike in people reporting issues with checkout, search, and logging in. The problem seemed to be affecting both the site and the mobile apps. But an Amazon spokesperson tells The Verge that the issues are now fixed.
“We’re sorry that some customers may have temporarily experienced issues while shopping,” Amazon spokesperson Jennie Bryant says in a statement. “We have resolved the issue, which was related to a software code deployment, and website and app are now running smoothly.”
Several Verge staffers experienced issues themselves when there were problems. Clicking through to many products produced a “sorry, something went wrong” error, and even pages that did load were not showing pricing. Users reported being repeatedly logged out of their accounts when trying to check out or load their cart. Even the parts of Amazon.com that were working seem to be loading slowly.
The company has been dealing with AWS outages in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates due to drone strikes by the Iranian military, but there has not been any word of more widespread outages in the US or elsewhere.
Update March 5th: Added comment from Amazon saying that things are fixed.
Technology
$163K in fake medical bill charges; AI uncovers it for you
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Last summer, a man’s brother-in-law suffered a fatal heart attack. The hospital bill for four hours of emergency care: $195,628.
The man’s sister-in-law was ready to pay it. He asked her to wait. He requested an itemized bill with CPT codes, the universal billing codes hospitals use, and fed the whole thing into Claude, an AI chatbot.
Within minutes, Claude found duplicate charges, services billed as “inpatient” even though the patient was never admitted, supply costs inflated by 500% to 2,300% above Medicare rates and charges for procedures that never happened. He cross-checked with ChatGPT. Both AIs agreed. He wrote a six-page letter citing every violation by name.
The hospital dropped the bill to $33,000. An 83% reduction. Zero medical training. A $20 app.
A man cross-checked a hospital bill with AI and got it reduced by some 83%. (Neil Godwin/Getty Images)
Your bill is probably wrong, too
That story sounds extreme. It’s not.
The Medical Billing Advocates of America estimates 3 out of 4 medical bills contain errors. The average hospital bill over $10,000 has roughly $1,300 in mistakes. And less than 1% of denied insurance claims are ever appealed. Hospitals and insurers are banking on the fact that you won’t check.
AI flips that equation. You don’t need to understand CPT codes or have a medical billing degree. You just need to paste.
You can use AI platforms, like ChatGPT, to spot errors or suspicious charges on medical bills. (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The 5-minute audit
Step 1: Call your provider and request an itemized bill with CPT codes. Not the summary. The full line-by-line breakdown. You’re legally entitled to this.
Step 2: Open ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or Gemini (free versions work) and paste this:
“I’m pasting my itemized medical bill below. Please: (1) Explain every charge in plain English, (2) Flag any duplicate or suspicious charges, (3) Compare each charge to average costs, (4) Identify billing code errors or bundling violations, and (5) Draft a dispute letter I can send to the billing department. Here’s my bill:”
Step 3: Paste your bill. The AI will translate every line and tell you what looks wrong.
WOMAN SAYS CHATGPT SAVED HER LIFE BY HELPING DETECT CANCER, WHICH DOCTORS MISSED
If the AI finds errors, call the billing department and ask for a supervisor. (iStock)
Step 4: If the AI finds errors (it probably will), call the billing department and ask for a supervisor. Reference the specific codes. Hospitals resolve disputes all the time when patients show up prepared.
Pro tip: Counterforce Health (counterforcehealth.org) is a free AI tool built specifically for insurance denial appeals. Worth bookmarking.
It’s time to give your medical bills a thorough examination. The AI will see you now.
Real talk. Everybody’s talking about AI. Nobody’s showing you what to actually DO with it. My new free newsletter, Splash of AI (SplashofAI.com), gives you one trick, one tool and one “wait, I can do THAT?” moment every single week. Five minutes. Plain English. The kind of stuff that saves you time, money or both. You’ll wonder how you got by without it.
Send this to someone who is staring at a medical bill they can’t make sense of. Forward this right now. Seriously. This could save them hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and it takes less time than making coffee.
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Technology
Meta’s AI glasses reportedly send sensitive footage to human reviewers in Kenya
Meta’s AI-powered smart glasses could be sending sensitive footage to human reviewers in Nairobi, Kenya, according to an investigation by the Swedish outlets Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborgs-Posten. The report, which was published last week, claims Meta contractors in Kenya have seen videos captured with the smart glasses that show “bathroom visits, sex and other intimate moments.”
So far, at least one proposed class action lawsuit accusing Meta of violating false advertising and privacy laws has emerged in response to Svenska Dagbladet’s reporting, citing the company’s claim that its smart glasses are designed for privacy:
By affirmatively claiming that the Glasses were designed to protect privacy, Meta assumed a duty to disclose material facts that would inform a reasonable consumer’s decision to purchase the product. Instead, Meta hid the alarming reality: that use of the AI features results in a stranger halfway around the world watching the most private moments of a person’s life.
The Nairobi-based contractors interviewed by Svenska Dagbladet are AI annotators, meaning they label images, text, or audio, with the goal of helping AI systems make sense of the data they’re training on. “We see everything — from living rooms to naked bodies,” one worker says, according to Svenska Dagbladet. “Meta has that type of content in its databases.”
A former Meta employee reportedly tells Svenska Dagbladet that faces in annotation data are blurred automatically, though workers in Kenya say this “does not always work as intended,” and some faces are still visible. Another person reportedly tells the outlet that a wearer’s bank cards are sometimes seen in the footage they review as well.
Meta’s Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses come with a built-in AI assistant capable of answering questions about what a user can see. The glasses have soared in popularity in recent years, despite growing concerns over privacy and surveillance.
EssilorLuxottica, the eyewear giant that Meta works with to develop the camera-equipped glasses, sold over 7 million of the AI-powered glasses in 2025 — more than tripling its sales in 2023 and 2024 combined. Last year, Meta made some changes to its privacy policy that keep Meta AI with camera use enabled on your glasses “unless you turn off ‘Hey Meta.’” It also stopped allowing wearers to opt out of storing their voice recordings in the cloud.
As reported by Svenska Dagbladet, the Kenya-based AI reviewers work with transcriptions as well, ensuring Meta AI provides the correct answer to the questions users ask aloud. In a statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton says media captured by its smart glasses “stays on the user’s device” unless they choose to share it with other people or Meta.
“When people share content with Meta AI, we sometimes use contractors to review this data for the purpose of improving people’s experience, as many other companies do,” Clayton says. “We take steps to filter this data to protect people’s privacy and to help prevent identifying information from being reviewed.”
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