Can viruses be transmitted through photos?

Can viruses embedded in photos spread when they are uploaded to dotphoto?

No. Even sophisticated embedding techniques will not be conveyed through dotphoto because dotphoto does not display the original file in either the thumbnail image or the screen display. When a file is uploaded to dotphoto, the original file is stored for printing, and dotphoto generates new images for thumbnails and screen images.


What about downloading my own images from dotphoto or purchasing a download from a professional photographer at dotphoto?


It is highly unlikely that an image with a virus can be uploaded to dotphoto because a virus is an executable or has an additional extension such as myphoto.jpg.exe, which dotphoto would not upload. Corrupted images may be rejected by dotphoto's upload tool.


How can you discover an image that may have a virus?


If a bad actor has inserted a virus into an image, the image is usually "bloated" -- that is, larger than a typical image. Virus scams constantly evolve, so, if you are concerned about viruses, please seek an antivirus program that examines images as well as other code.


How are viruses covered in dotphoto's Terms & Conditions?


Our users are expected to transmit virus-free images. Section 3 notes:


"You agree that all materials which are transmitted by you are your sole and exclusive responsibility. You agree that you will not use the Service to upload, post or otherwise transmit any content that is: unlawful, harmful, threatening, profane, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, or pornographic, or which may give rise to civil or criminal liability under applicable law; libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable; harmful to minors in any way; violative of any copyright or other proprietary rights of another; or to transmit any software, images or other materials that contain any viruses, worms, trojan horses, defects, or other destructive items."


Further reading about viruses in photos


Viruses are extremely rare in photos. They have not been an issue for dotphoto, but we are addressing the issue because viruses have threatened certain large entities -- though not through photos or other images.


Viruses in Google photos:  https://www.thetechwire.com/can-you-get-a-virus-from-google-images/ 

Detecting viruses in photos:  https://www.izitru.com/image-file/jpeg/how-to-tell-if-a-jpeg-has-a-virus/


How to block malware in photos:  https://gizmodo.com/malware-images-virus-photos-pictures-how-block-antiviru-1849572516


How JPG EXIF hides malware:  https://umbrella.cisco.com/blog/picture-perfect-how-jpg-exif-data-hides-malware

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