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Malware 'may be delivered by RSS'

RSS feeds may provide content without the need to visit a website, but that does not mean they are free of malware.

That is the warning given in a new Impcompfacts blog post, which advises that such feeds may carry unwanted active content.

Author Ankit notes that not all online news-reading software prevents scripts from running when retrieved in articles via RSS feeds.

"Odds are very good that the hack will not be discovered - or, if it is discovered, it will be discovered long after the damage has been done," the post observes.

The article adds that "it is also easy enough to issue a relocate command to move the RSS feed to another website".

In this way, even more malicious content may be delivered directly to the reader, the blog contends.

The cautionary note follows guidance from Isaiah Henry, writing on the MP3Preview blog, that free music downloads offered on some websites can come with malware incorporated into the file.

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