Shamu Killing Trainer Video – Hackers are taking advantage of the current news trend related to the death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau by injecting malwares into web pages.

According to a report by security firm Sophos, top searches on Google including terms such as “sea world trainer killed home video”, “killer whale kills trainer footage”, and “shamu killing trainer video,” which are top search trends, lead to dangerous sites with malwares.

Many are still searching for videos of the killer whale Tillikum, who killed veteran SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld Orlando’s Shamu Stadium last Wednesday.  People are looking for the actual video footage of the killing, as morbid as it might seem.

Unfortunately, there ain’t no video at all. Much of the time, hitting one of the those links will lead you to a warning page which may possibly be a malware-laden site.

Beware, hackers are using the ‘tried-and-true’ rogue antivirus method.

Whenever a notification pops up on your computer saying either ‘it is’ or ‘it may be’ infected, never accept their offer. As you install the software on your system, you’re accepting the malware itself. According to Sophos,

The heartless hackers are taking advantage of the hot news story by popping up fake anti-virus (also known as scareware or rogue anti-virus) alerts. The alerts are designed to frighten unsuspecting users into believing there is a security problem with their computer, which could lead them into downloading dangerous software or handing over their credit card details.

The tactic being used by cybercriminals is the same as the one we saw after the death of Natasha Richardson and Patrick Swayze, and when they exploited interest amongst the public in the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack last year.

You could argue that anyone hunting for footage of this horrific accident deserves everything that’s coming to them, but the real sick ones here are the hackers who are trying to profit from the death of an innocent woman in a tragic accident.

You may be totally aware of those common pop-ups. The number one rule is if you get a pop-up that says “your PC might be infected” and asks to run a scan … never do it! Close the tab, or use the back arrow to get out of the site. Your system should be OK as long as you do not accept the offer to scan your unit.

Photo credits: Google