Internet users have been warned not to click on links with titillating titles such as “leaked images of a YouTube star,” as their computers could become infected with malicious code.

Computer security firm AhnLab said it found an attempt to spread malicious code by luring internet users with fake images of a YouTube celebrity whose lewd photos were leaked online last month.

A link leading to malicious code was recently posted to an online community with the sensational title and sexually explicit images. 

After clicking on the link and decompressing a zipped file, users are directed to malicious code disguised as an image file.

Once infected with the malicious code, a computer not only slows down, but can also become a zombie computer controlled by hackers or leak the user’s personal information.

The reported post has been deleted.

“Attackers have constantly used social issues to stimulate people’s curiosity. Internet users should follow security guidelines as they can continue to spread the code by changing the title,” said Han Chang-gyu, chief of the AhnLab Security Emergency Response Center.

Security guidelines include using official websites when downloading files, testing files with the most up-to-date antivirus before executing them and refraining from downloading unverified files.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)