World cup fans warned vs sites offering free game streaming

MANILA, Philippines - A secure content developer has warned World Cup fans against websites offering free streaming of 2014 FIFA World Cup games.

Kaspersky Lab researcher Dmitry Bestuzhev warned that these websites may be embedded with programs that may harm your computer's system and steal credit card information.

"The least malicious of these programs will require users to download drivers that are supposedly proprietary video player plugins," Bestuzhev said.

He said that even the least harmful fake websites may infect a user's computer with adware that can monitor his online activity.

"Other programs, tell users that all they need to do to access any game at any time is to download their program – and provide their credit card information," Bestuzhev added.

He said that websites posing as FIFA game streaming hubs that ask for credit card information should be "a huge red flag" to the user.

"Such sites are bogus, and are simply trying to steal the user’s money," the Kaspersky Lab researcher added.

Bestuzhev said that the only safe way to watch the World Cup series is on television or by logging in on an authenticated cable service provider. US users, fortunately, can stream games for free on univision.com.

"Any other supposed World Cup streaming service is highly likely to include harmful software," he said.