Stupid question but is it possible to get a virus from an MKV file. (self.piracy)

submitted 5 months ago by Thebay to c/piracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com

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Stupid question but is it possible to get a virus from an MKV file that is less than 24 hours old. I was streamed using VLC version 3.0.20 form the repose on Linux.

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[-] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 62 points 5 months ago

Every once in a while security researchers would discover sophisticated exploits that would allow malwares to take over your computer via multimedia files, but those are actually rarely exploited in the wild by run off the mill malwares.

Unless you're an important person being targeted by hackers and three letter agencies, your biggest source of threat is running infected programs from untrusted sources, e.g. cracks downloaded from random torrents or warez sites, shady sites serving ads that trick you to run some executables, etc.

[-] EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone 41 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I really hate to be "that person", but..........it's "run of the mill", not "run off the mill", friend.

It's a term from the late 1800s that refers to "manufactured goods not graded or sorted for quality—that is, a mill's products before they've been separated according to what will sell for how much." (Source for quote: https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/where-does-run-of-the-mill-come-from)

Seriously, I'm not trying to be a grammar nazi here. Unless of course that was just autocorrect being a dick, in which case I'll go walk off a cliff now... :/

[-] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 12 points 5 months ago

Thank you for the correction!

[-] EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 5 months ago

Of course. :) I love learning about etymology and stuff, but I understand language is an evolving phenomenon so I try not to be a dick. Lol, hopefully, I succeeded.