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Surprise: Software that promises to 'reveal' naked pics plants password-stealing malware
TikTok videos constantly go viral. Tap or click here to see how going viral on TikTok has changed the music industry. One of the biggest this year is the Invisible Challenge. It’s where people use a filter to make their body appear to be see-through, leaving just a silhouette visible.
Thousands of TikTok users apply the filter to videos where they seductively remove their clothes. In reality, they are getting naked, but viewers can’t see anything suggestive because the filter makes their bodies invisible. That’s where cybercriminals enter.
Keep reading to find out how shady people are using this viral TikTok challenge to trick you into downloading malware onto your device.
Here’s the backstory
The Invisible Challenge on TikTok is one of the biggest trends this year, amassing over 25 million views on the #InvisibleFilter tag. Its popularity has spurred scammers to set up fake software that claims to remove the filter.
Why would anyone want this filter remover? Well, to be honest, it’s a bit repulsive. As we said earlier, some people participating in the Invisible Challenge are naked while filming their videos. People looking for a filter remover hope to see the content creators naked. Not cool.
According to cybersecurity company Checkmarx, two users posted videos on TikTok to explain how the filter-removing software works. The pair had over a million views combined, and the videos include a link to a Dischord server.
To make it seem legit, they included NSFW videos that they claim are from the Invisible Challenge. In reality, if you pursue this software, what you’re actually getting is malware installed on your device.
Once users ” believe” the proof, they are directed to download the software from GitHub. But naturally, the software is fake and highly dangerous. There is no way to remove the filter, and the malware steals passwords, credit card numbers and cryptocurrency wallets.
What you can do about it
Here are some common sense tips to avoid having your devices infected with malware from schemes like these.
The first thing to remember is filters are embedded into an app’s code. So no software will be able to remove, unblur or expose content in a video after it’s been rendered. Any software or app that makes such claims should be considered fake.
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