Watching unofficial streaming sites on the Internet is not worthwhile for many Czechs during the summer. Many of these sites are infected with the JS/Chromex.Submelius trojan horse and require multiple clicks on the video preview to start the video, which opens new browser windows and displays ads in them. In some cases, these websites operate on .cz and .sk domains and contain offers to install malicious plugins. During July, the company ESET recorded almost the same number of detections of this Trojan horse as of the most common domestic Internet threat recently, the JS/Danger.ScriptAttachment malware.

In the first holiday month, JS/Chromex.Submeliux accounted for 16,72 percent of detected threats, while JS/Danger.ScriptAttachment malware accounted for 17,50 percent. “Surge in JS/Chromex.Submeliux detections may be related to the holiday season. It is at this time that more users use unofficial streaming services and download offered plugins," says Miroslav Dvořák, Technical Director of ESET. “Plugins, however, have the exact opposite effect. In addition, they can install a downloader into the attacked device," explains Dvořák.

The most frequent Internet threat remains JS/Danger.ScriptAttachment. This malicious code is mainly spread through spam email attachments. "It is not only harmful by itself, it can download other malicious codes to the attacked device, including extortion ransomware, which encrypts the contents of the device and demands a ransom from the victim," warns Dvořák.

The third most frequently reported threat in July was the JS/Adware.AztecMedia malware. It opens unsolicited advertising windows in the Internet browser. In some cases, it can even change the home page of the Internet browser. In July, it represented 4,36 percent of recorded threats in the Czech Republic.

The ten most frequent internet threats in the Czech Republic for July 2017:

1. JS/Danger.ScriptAttachment (17,50%)
2. JS/Chromex.Submeliux (16,72%)
3. JS/Adware.AztecMedia (4,36%)
4. Win32/GenKryptik (2,29%)
5. SMB/Exploit.DoublePulsar (2,25%)
6. PDF/Fraud (1,90%)
7. JS/Adware.BNXAds (1,88%)
8. Java/Kryptik.FN (1,77%)
9. Java/Kryptik.FL (1,76%)
10. HTML/Frame (1,44%)

About ESET

ESET has been developing security software for home and business users since 1987. It holds a record number of awards and thanks to it more than 100 million users can safely explore the possibilities of the Internet. ESET's broad portfolio of products covers all popular platforms, including mobile, and provides continuous proactive protection with minimal system requirements. ESET became the first company to receive 100 awards from the prestigious Virus Bulletin VB100 magazine thanks to its long-term high level of protection. These successes are mainly due to long-term investments in development. In the Czech Republic alone, we can find three development centers in Prague, Jablonec nad Nisou and Brno. The ESET company has a local representative office in Prague, a global headquarters in Bratislava and has an extensive network of partners in more than 200 countries around the world.