A number of reports have surfaced that Spotify Free is serving up malware to users on all platforms, including Macs running Safari. Spotify users were afflicted with a similar issue back in 2011.
TNW:
According to a user report on the company’s forum, running Spotify Free on the desktop periodically causes your browser to open various malicious websites without your permission.
Users posted to Twitter, warning others:
@SpotifyCares Yesterday the Spotify Free software started launching malware on my Mac's Safari on its own. Many have the same experience atm
— Taru Kalvi (@tarukalvi) October 5, 2016
Spotify has responded to a post in its support forum to assure users that it is “currently looking into this.” While the original report of malware was on a Windows 10 machine, additional reports indicate it is a cross-platform affliction, also affecting Mac and Linux machines.
One developer posted logs of some of the sites involved;
PSA: uninstall Spotify free, their ads are plagued with malware right now. pic.twitter.com/DUOqDrnDUZ
— Volp (@VolpRS) October 5, 2016
TNW notes this isn’t the first time Spotify has had to deal with an issue of malware.
This isn’t the first time music giant has dealt with ad controversy. Back in 2011, the streaming service issued a public apology after displaying malicious ads to some of its users. The company was quick to resolve the complication though.
This is developing. We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.
