Harry Potter’s sworn enemy may be the evil Voldemort and his dark magic, but it’s the dark arts of black hat SEO that are threatening Harry right now, or at least fans of Harry Potter.
This starling revelation comes from ‘PC Tools’, who sell Internet security software for home PCs. They claim that the success of the latest Harry Potter movie will encourage cyber criminals to target Harry Potter fans in a bid to spread malware and viruses. Using SEO the criminals will be optimising websites for phrases such as ‘Download Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ and ‘Watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince online free’ to attract fans keen to catch a glimpse of the latest Potter movie before everyone else.
The cyber criminals are already bombarding sites such as YouTube and various blogs with comments linking to their own spam sites, a known black hat SEO technique. Anyone who follows the links will find themselves prompted to download malware that will infect their computers.
If you’re a Harry Potter fan, be careful of any website or link that offers the film for free.
