Important Question About Spyware/Virus: Can .MP4 Files Be Infected?

Hi all,

Sorry to ask such a basic question, but I know people are always inventing new spyware/viruses so I just wanted to check if it was possible for an .MP4 file to be infected with a virus?

I've always thought .MP4 files and other video formats were 100% safe, but is this still the case in 2020?

I'd appreciate the input from the computing experts here.

Thank you.

EDIT:
I've been feeling a lot of paranoia around this question so any help would be great!

Hi there!

MP4 video files can be infected.

If your video binds to a virus, you are bound to see the extension or you can check in properties to find out its video format.

Some viruses are in fake video files. When you attempt to play videos in your Windows Media Player, for example, the device will search for the codec.
Instead, of using the right codec, the video redirects it to the virus.

Therefore, Windows would use the virus as codec, leading to infection of your MP4 video files.

Each video file needs to be first scanned by an AV and possibly MBAM (Malwarebytes free) if you suspect that it might be compromised.

FWIW

Try SecureAplus.

This whitelists everything, everything else (dll, script, exe) that is not approved prompts for specific approval. Thus if any form of executable tries to run (trojan, virus...) it will be caught.

Also supports scanning with around 13 AV engines and uploading to Virustotal.

Another approach: Sandboxie

Use a sandboxed approach- anything downloaded in the sandbox can only be transferred to your normal system by you.

I use it and have used it for some years and have used it alongside Avast (it works with traditional AV).

Well supported.

I mentioned virustotal- but you have to upload things. It will NOT protect you from things that run on your system.

Ok. When you specify your questions just say 'I hate 3rd party software solutions' Then people won't spend time giving you answers you don't want. Thank you.

NiceAndShy said:

Thanks, but I've never heard of SecureAplus? How can I trust it?

Watch video around 43 seconds in and again around 1 min 45 seconds:

NiceAndShy said:

T
I'm not opposed to using websites that scan URL's for viruses as they don't need to install any software on my PC.

That won't help if an executable or script runs when you play an .mp4 file. You can only rely on onboard security for that.