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As video use grows more dominant on the internet, it seems that videos have become the newest Trojan horse for hackers to install unwanted software on computers.

From an article at Yahoo News, security firms have reported an increase in the use of rogue Windows codecs, which are file compressors usually used to play clips, but are now being used for pop-up ads, or, even worse, to install keyloggers to secretly record confidential data.

Sunbelt Software, an anti-spyware firm, found malicious code hidden in a codec that, when executed, stated the computer had security problems and then demanded money for repair.

Security experts believe it is only a matter of time before these tricks find their way into the videos on video sharing websites such as Youtube. If and when they do, it will give them an near unlimited supply of computers to infect.

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