A research analyst sent me a link to a YouTube video the other day, and to my surprise my Barracuda Networks security software blocked all access to YouTube. Barracuda considers it a security threat. Well, this was the first time I had ever heard of security issues with YouTube, so I had to investigate.
Reading through the company's literature, all I could find was concerns regarding streaming content (YouTube, XM Radio, stock quotes) as either distractions that impact employee productivity, or applications that suck Internet bandwidth. I couldn't find anything on Barracuda's website that indicated virus or malware issues.
With a little more investigation, I did learn of hackers that use fake YouTube pages to spread malware. They replicate the look and feel of YouTube pages. A solicitation with a link to view a video is emailed to thousands. You are intrigued by the subject. You trust YouTube. Before you know it, you have clicked to play the video and allowed malicious software to infect your PC. Once the computer is infected with the virus, the malware may actually redirect from the fake YouTube video to a real YouTube page, so you wind up seeing what you were expecting to see in the first place.
This doesn't appear to be too prevalent, but it is apparently out there. The story I found about this was from the UK. Also, the problem does not occur within the real YouTube domain, so Barracuda is blocking the legitimate video site but not the domain of the fake YouTube. Now this is really getting annoying.
If there is a hell, hackers and malware programmers - the box seats are reserved for you. I want my YouTube.
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If anyone knows of serious YouTube security issues, let me know.
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