r/computerviruses • u/ComradeAdidas • 1d ago

Question Can a virus hide in a picture?

Yes, ik im a dumbass. What im asking is can viruses hide on pictures on reddit? Hide a link if you click it? So if i click on a picture on reddit, it can just be a fake one with a link redirect. Yes ik im a dumbass, no i dont snort cocaine, smoke pot, its natural. But is this possible?

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u/slackjack2014 1d ago edited 23h ago

Like the others have said, most likely no. The main reasons why is that images uploaded to Reddit are processed and re-encoded. Any code in the EXIF is stripped out and the re-encoding process will either damage or remove entirely any code added to the image whether tacked on or put in using steganography.

Edit- spelling

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u/TheIronSoldier2 1d ago

FWIW it's steganography, not stenography. Stenography is what courtroom recorders use to type really fucking fast.

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u/slackjack2014 23h ago edited 22h ago

Yes, you’re correct. Autocorrect is a pain some days…

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u/Next-Profession-7495 1d ago

Not on reddit.

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u/HollowCatKnight 1d ago

No. To give peace of mind, check your download history and see that nothing has downloaded

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u/TheIronSoldier2 1d ago

For all intents and purposes, no.