Sports fans are being warned about the risk of free sports streaming as the Formula One season gets underway, with one prominent security firm urging people to be more aware of the dangers tied to watching copyrighted live sports streams through unofficial channels, including ‘dodgy’ TV boxes.

While the Men’s Six Nations and FA Cup are shown on terrestrial TV, F1 and many other popular sports such as the Premier League, tennis and golf opens, boxing and cricket are only available to watch in the UK via subscriptions, either to TV services such as Sky or through monthly subscriptions to NOW TV, TNT Sports and other providers.

Paying up can get expensive, which is partly what drives people to search for free online streams of the latest F1 race or football match. This IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) technology is not illegal, and is how legitimate broadcasters show their sports online. But using IPTV to stream copyrighted content without permission often violates copyright law, with recent reports of crackdowns on illegal streaming operations in the UK.

But there are several risks associated with free streams for the user, not just the distributor.

“Easy-to-find websites that promise free streaming can seem like a great deal, especially when subscription costs continue to rise,” said Silviu Stahie, security analyst at cybersecurity firm Bitdefender.

“What begins as a visit can quickly turn users into victims, exposing them to malware infections and data harvesting. When children are involved, the risks escalate even further, with exposure to gambling promotions and adult content adding another layer of harm.”

Bitdefender has analysed several popular free streaming sites and uncovered what it says are “consistent patterns of aggressive monetization, hidden tracking mechanisms, and malicious infrastructure” that could be more harmful to you than you realise, especially if you have a modified device such as a Fire TV Stick set up to stream sports for free.

These Android TV box gadgets are often bought from sellers who have set them up to plug-and-play. Colloquially, they are often known as ‘dodgy’ TV boxes.

“Many modified Android TV boxes run outdated Android versions that no longer receive security updates,” warned Stahie. “Some sellers disable automatic updates entirely to prevent unofficial apps from breaking. As a result, known vulnerabilities can remain permanently exposed.”

This could lead to compromises to your home Wi-Fi network, opening you and your personal devices to hacks from cyber criminals. Boxes are often sent out “with no regard for security”.

“A device positioned in the living room that’s always on and connected to the network is a much bigger security risk than visiting a website,” Stahie said.

Another of the most worrying things about free streaming sites is how easy it is for children to find them from a simple web search, but then be “exposed to gambling promotions, explicit content and unmoderated chats,” according to Bitdefender.

“Unlike licensed streaming platforms, these websites don’t enforce age verification, content segmentation or advertising standards,” Stahie explained.

“Kids will get to see banner ads for online gambling and explicit websites often appear directly next to the video player. Some pop-ups open adult pages automatically in new tabs.

“Sports streams frequently embed betting promotions that normalize gambling behavior and kids getting repeated exposure to this type of messaging might start to believe that it’s normal.”

Free stream sites can also use nefarious tactics to send ads to your PC without you noticing. Some pages can place ads using off-screen coordinates so you can’t see them, but they are constantly loading in the background, which slows down the stream and sends ad display revenue right back to the website owners.

Bitdefender also found underhanded use of tracking technology to send your internet browsing data to Meta (Facebook) for further tracking, and also warned of the dangers of using torrent sites to find recordings of past sports events.

One instance found a file that appears to be the blockbuster film F1 starring Brad Pitt, “when in reality the files contained malware”.

Downloading and opening the file could install malicious software onto the user’s PC to further extract personal data or extort you via ransomware.

“You don’t need to abandon online streaming, but you do need to approach it responsibly,” Stahie said.

“Choose licensed platforms that have the distribution rights. These services usually implement advertising standards and parental controls.”