back to article Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Spotify serving malware, no escape from reality

Spotify has apologized to its subscribers after it served up malicious adverts that attempted to infect listeners' computers. The problem occurred with Spotify Free, which lets people to stream music gratis in exchange for being played and shown adverts. One advertiser sneakily embedded nasty software code into its Spotify ads …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    Sophisticated malware capable of infecting Windows, macOS and Linux systems.

    "One advertiser embedded some fairly sophisticated malware capable of infecting Windows, macOS and Linux systems."

    How exactly does the malware get installed onto the client device?

    1. analyzer

      Re: Sophisticated malware capable of infecting Windows, macOS and Linux systems.

      It would appear that it launched the default browser to other sites with malicious software for drive by downloads.

      The launch of the default browser was successful on all 3 O/S' but there is no evidence that any system, other than the usual one, actually downloaded anything.

      I got fed up with the ads and went premium a couple of months back.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Sophisticated malware capable of infecting Windows, macOS and Linux systems.

        I got fed up with the ads and went premium a couple of months back.

        I suspect that malware will have the same effect, which makes me wonder ..

  2. Dwarf

    Yet again

    Adverts being used as the attack vector for malware.

    ... and advertisers wonder why we all use adblockers and hate adverts.

    1. Saigua

      Re: Yet again

      Yes similarly why would we have a default browser, and yet it looks like wolf bait has served us very poorly here. The bar for subliminal content to include in 'bad tees' (as opposed to fine art toques) has been fattened if not raised.

      Even so I get lots of intents I don't intend even without baseband p0wn season on, and on a BYOD I haven't rooted (my desktop for that has 2MB DDR2, I can't root everything; like the phone with no 5 of another Stephen) supposing there were a reason to tether or otherwise connect on usb for trust maintenance and backup who's to say I'd capture the right logcat food or fout()? Kaspersky Family VM?

    2. VinceH

      Re: Yet again

      "and advertisers wonder why we all use adblockers and hate adverts."

      Would ad-blockers have helped in this case, though?

      I don't use Spotify, but I assumed it uses its own software, rather than run in the browser - hence these malverts launching the default browser.

      (Mind you, I also assumed the adverts on Spotify would be audio ones, much like you'd hear on commercial radio stations - and I must clearly be wrong about that, so what do I know?)

  3. WillbeIT
    Pint

    BEST. ARTICLE. TITLE. EVER.

    That's all.

  4. GrumpyKiwi
    Mushroom

    F*** You Spotify

    and your insistence that your product runs from the %temp% directory - this a mere 9 years on since Microsoft issued their standard for software to run from %Program Files%. You know, back in the wonderful days of Vista, which ironically appears to be a well written and secure program compared to Spottydickify.

    A sign of a company that doesn't give two shits about how insecure or otherwise crap their product is.

    (Finishes rant, panting heavily, lights up cigarette)

    1. Wensleydale Cheese
      Happy

      Re: F*** You Spotify

      "(Finishes rant, panting heavily, lights up cigarette)"

      Go on. Tell 'em what you really think.

      1. Bronek Kozicki

        Re: F*** You Spotify

        Well, I did. And closed my premium account on the occasion, was paying for some 5 years but finally got fed up with it.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: F*** You Spotify

      > (Finishes rant, panting heavily, lights up cigarette)

      Bad pant you have there. Ever thought of giving up cigarettes?

  5. Stretch

    EZBlocker

    Use it. Now you are safe.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Small number of users?

    As pointed out before (forgot who), is there any other group size?

  7. lglethal Silver badge
    Go

    So how do we get Spotify punished for this? I.e we need some government department to come in and declare that they were responsible for what was served in their ads, and hit them with a mega fine.

    That is the only way, that these firms will take responsibility for what they dish out. At the moment, anyone willing to flip them a few bucks can send out an ad, and obviously Spotify take no interest in whats in those ads. But then again neither does any other internet firm. The only way to fix that is to make them criminally and financially responsible for what gets dished out.

  8. Oldfogey
    Happy

    Free service

    Just access Spotify through the browser, rather than an app. No audio adverts, and adblock stops any visual ones.

  9. armyknife

    Thanks for the reminder to Uninstall it.

    Thanks for the prompt, that got me around to un-installing it.

    Bizarrely after doing that I now have 8mb less on my C drive than before, so off I got manually hunting for all of its components and dettritous left on my system. Shows you what a crap piece of software/adware spotify free edition is.

    1. RAMChYLD

      Re: Thanks for the reminder to Uninstall it.

      If on Windows, check the appdata\roaming directory in your user folder. Not sure about Mac/Linux, I don't have Spotify on my Linux boxens and my I don't have access to my Mac at this time to check.

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