In December 2024, Microsoft Threat Intelligence identified a malware campaign stemming from pirate streaming sites. Using iframe malvertising redirector URLs to generate revenue, and redirects up to five layers deep, malware payloads hosted on GitHub, Discord and Dropbox, acted as a dropper for additional payloads hosted elsewhere. Microsoft says the goal was to steal information and it believes almost a million devices were infected.
Even if you’re not pirating as ads from google can be dangerous as well: Ublock Origin + Privacy Badger + Decentraleyes + VPN
PiHole or AdGuard Home as DNS at router level and boom, wider net and smaller attack surface.
I personally had issues with AdGuard as a DNS with quite a few websites breaking. I use Quad9 instead.
Same with a VPN at router level, I play games that are harsh on VPN usage and don’t want to get banned on those so can’t use it network wide atm.
Hadn’t heard of Privacy Badger. Thanks for this.
Its a great extra! Glad to be of help