this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2024
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Spotify playlists and podcasts are being abused to push pirated software, game cheat codes, spam links, and "warez" sites.

By injecting targeted keywords and links in playlist names and podcast descriptions, threat actors may benefit from boosting SEO for their dubious online properties, since Spotify's web player results appear in search engines like Google.

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[–] Sabata11792@ani.social 11 points 4 hours ago

If i find out about a piracy site though any means other than word of mouth and my own research, I assume it's fake and malicious.

[–] Tattorack@lemmy.world 12 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Oh! We're reviving "warez"? Nice!

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

I'd always pronounced it "where-azz" and I'm not sure I could ever switch to "wares"

[–] Texas_Hangover@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 hours ago (2 children)

My best friend back in the day pronounced it WAR-EZ. It was a constant point of contention between us.

[–] burgersc12@mander.xyz 1 points 37 minutes ago

I think War-ez sounds cool

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 hours ago

Sounds like your best friend is me! Surprise!

[–] Tattorack@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Hah! So I'm not the only one!

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 6 points 7 hours ago

Malware is the issue, I don't see any issue with libre content being promoted to the plebs.

[–] jdw@links.mayhem.academy 51 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

“Warez”. That’s a name I’ve not heard for a long time.

[–] P1nkman@lemmy.world 8 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Now let's bring back astalavista 🤘

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 10 points 10 hours ago

With a name like that, they'll be back.

[–] francisfordpoopola@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago

A long time.

[–] Absaroka@lemmy.world 14 points 9 hours ago

I enjoy that they're focusing on 'promoting pirated software and game cheats' before talking about malware first.

Cybersecurity ethusiast Karol Paciorek who spotted the playlist said, "cybercriminals exploit Spotify for malware distribution. Why? Spotify has a strong reputation and its pages are easily indexed by search engines, making it an effective platform to promote malicious links."

That's a very different, more helpful story. "Watch out, Spotify links are being used to distribute malware to your computer."

When abusing platforms, spammers and scammers leave no stone unturned to promote their agenda.

Money. They aren't doing this as part of a 'peons of the world unite to steal software' scheme. They're doing it to generate traffic so they make more ad revenue.

[–] Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works 2 points 8 hours ago

Spotify's business model is abusing artists .

[–] Engywuck@lemm.ee 3 points 10 hours ago