Beware fake media players
Some supposed media players like 3wplayer, domplayer and zixplayer, and supposed media codecs like DivoCodec, are in fact laden with malware and trojans. This lens is dedicated to helping eradicate the slime that propagate these scams and to get info on how to avoid their malware and/or recover from it.
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Recommended Reading
Fake torrents and how to avoid them
In uTorrent go to Options > Preferences > Advanced.
Find bt.prio_first_last_piece and set it to true. This prioritises download of the first and last pieces. Once you have the first piece you can attempt to play the movie to see if it appears fake or not.
How? After trying DivX player, Windows Media Player and Winamp to no avail I discovered that the VLC media player can play partially complete files.
When you attempt to open to partially downloaded file in VLC it will prompt with something about repairing the media file. Just say No, and it will attempt to play the file as is. You'll then either see the infamous Locked content/download 3wplayer/domplayer/etc message, or the first few seconds of the episode/movie.
Good luck. Oh, and if you want something that can help you avoid/recover from infection (in case you read this too late), try Symantec - they are worth it: Norton AntiVirus 2008 - Download the newest version of premier antivirus protection.
PS Your torrent client will probably need to be set to pre-allocate space for the download.
Who makes 3wplayer, domplayer, etc?
Possible link to RentACoder?
The RentACoder buyer is WakeNet, and the current job (as of 20071126) is titled "User help (antivirus)".
Important links relating to 3wplayer
Also known as domplayer, zixplayer, WinZix, DivoCodec, etc
Easy Fix to decode 3wPlayer Malware Infected files
Fix for 3wplayer and similar files.1 point
play3w - play3w and for dom pro video player
A brief description of how to unlock bogus &am more...0 points
3wPlayer - Symantec.com
What Symantec has to say about 3wplayer.0 points
BitTorrent Malware Spreads to Media Players | TorrentFreak
TorrentFreak comments on 3wplayer.0 points
http://forum.mininova.org/index.php?showtopic=234993227
Popular torrent site Mininova's users comment on 3 more...0 points
VLC media player - Overview
VLC media player - the tool I use to check for fak more...0 points
Wikipedia's 3wplayer entry
What wikipedia says about 3wplayer.
3wPlayer is a rogue media player software application bundled with trojans that can infect computers running Microsoft Windows. It is designed to exploit users who download video files, instructing them to download and install the program in order to view the video. The 3wPlayer employs a form of social engineering to infect computers. Seemingly desirable video files, such as recent movies, are released via BitTorrent or other distribution channels. These files resemble conventional AVI files, but are engineered to display a message when played on most media player programs, instructing the user to visit the 3wPlayer website and download the software to view the video.
The 3wPlayer is infected with Trojan.Win32.Obfuscated.enTrojan.Win32.Obfuscated.en.
According to Symantec, 3wPlayer "may download" a piece of adware they refer to as Adware.Lop,3wPlayer - Technical Details, accessed on 2008/07/24 which "adds its own toolbar and search button to Internet Explorer".Adware.Lop, accessed on 2008/07/24
A Perl script posted online can reportedly decrypt 3wplayer files back into AVI.Mininova Forum: 3wplayer and the like..., accessed on 10/3/07 This claim has been tested with mixed results, as the intended AVI file is rarely the desired video file.
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SAHAN wrote
I had the same problem.There is a useful article on torrent freak.There is a program to help your problem.Go to www.wildmanproduction.org
Posted June 01, 2008
w00t wrote
Same problem, different shit.
Posted February 19, 2008
wigglebum wrote...
ANY movies you download which say they need domplayer etc are FAKE MOVIES. They may appear to be the correct size, but they are NOT the movie you were trying to download.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES download and install domplayer, as it infects your computer with a trojan.
Posted February 01, 2008
AliDanwer wrote
i am really Confused, If Any can help me with this issue i'll appriciate the help . I Downloaded a movie sized 699MB and when i played it it says domplayer needed i downloaded the domplayer as it says from playon.domplayer.com but its saying need $3 US to activate while installing,,, so it means its fake so i searched a crack for domplayer and its not working either? now how should i play the file ????
Posted January 29, 2008
by wigglebum
Hi, my name is Ben Helps. My wife and I run Wigglebum, a mobile and online pet supplies store.
We're based in the beautiful Hunter Valley in Australia...
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