Official Twitter account tells users to not visit site for now or run downloaded software

The web address for the streaming service Crunchyroll is redirecting to a server that forces most web browsers to download software without authorization since before 8:00 a.m. EDT on Saturday. The front page of the new server claims "A New Media Player" for Crunchyroll (with grammatical errors), and automatically sends a "CrunchyViewer.exe" program for download.

Crunchyroll's official German Twitter account is advising users to avoid accessing the Crunchyroll website, explaining that there is a problem with "malicious software." If people already downloaded the CrunchyViewer.exe program, the German account also urges them to delete the program, to not run the program, and to scan their computers for possible viruses or other malicious software. The account adds, "if you have run [the CrunchyViewer.exe program], change all your passwords and backup your data."

The service's German Twitter account said that people who access the service through a Crunchyroll app (instead of through the website) "should be safe," although the service is not streaming as of press time. The Twitter account emphasized that the service's servers have not been compromised, and explained that "at the moment, it appears to be DNS hijacking." Domain Name Service hijacking allows an unauthorized third party to redirect traffic from the proper server to another server, similar to what happened to ANN in August.

Crunchyroll's representatives in the United States have not yet responded to ANN's request for comment. Crunchyroll's German Twitter account noted that Crunchyroll's American social media staff members were not awake when the problem first appeared. The German account has been posting warning messages in both German and English.

Services that attempt to identify the geographical location of a server, based on its numeric Internet Protocol address, list the redirected server in the Netherlands. However, these services do not necessarily give an accurate geographical location.

Update: Instead of the unauthorized server with the CrunchyViewer.exe software download, some users may see the proper Crunchyroll server, but with a message reporting that "an error has occurred."

Update 2: As of 10:09 a.m. EDT, Crunchyroll's English Twitter account is also warning users not to access its website, and it also assures them that its staff is working on the problem.