[UPDATE] Multiple Spotify users are reporting that the Spotify Free app is delivering malware infested ads that launch an uncontrollable series of malware and virus infested sites. Now, Spotify has responded.
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Spotify Free is delivering ads that automatically launch kinds of malware infested sites, according to multiple users.
“If you have Spotify Free open, it will launch – and keep on launching – the default internet browser on the computer to different kinds of malware / virus sites,” writes Spotify user tonyonly in the Spotify Community Forum. “Some of them do not even require user action to be able to cause harm. I have 3 different systems (computers) which are all clean and they are all doing this, all via Spotify.”
On Twitter, other users reported the same problem.
PSA: uninstall Spotify free, their ads are plagued with malware right now. pic.twitter.com/DUOqDrnDUZ
— Volp (@VolpRS) October 5, 2016
Had a malware on my ubuntu desktop that kept opening random ads on my browser every minute. Luckily @Spotify client was easy to uninstall.
— Samu Nuutamo (@SamuNuutamo) October 5, 2016
The malware appears to be an issue for users with Windows 10, Mas iOs and Ubuntu operating system.
Spotify has responded to user tonyonly that its looking into the matter. We have contact Spotify for an official comment and will update this post when we recieve it.
UPDATE FROM SPOTIFY: “A small number of users have experienced a problem with questionable website pop ups in their default browsers as a result of an isolated issue with an ad on our free tier. We have identified the source of the problem and have shut it down. We will continue to monitor the situation.”