Word of Caution: Get Your Kindle Books Only At Amazon

Good to know. Thanks.

There is a vast segment of Kindle owners that download pirated eBooks from the internet. It is estimated that up to 20% of eBook downloads stem from bit-torrent or pirate sites. There is a new online threat that is targeting Kindle owners, that may hijack your entire Amazon account.

Getting books from bit-torrent or pirate sites is stealing.We are not just talking about your Amazon account being at risk,but all of the data, passwords, etc on your computer.

knmt,

Are you saying that as long as I download my books from Amazon I will be safe?

Thank you for posting this information.

Thanks for posting this.

Good to know, thanks. I have a Nook HD, but I downloaded the Kindle app. I only have one book so far in my Kindle library, but I'll make it a point to download only from Amazon when I add additional books.

As with anything, caveat emptor. If you're downloading from the torrents you should be downloading the files into a separate folder and running security scans on them using multiple programs before you install them.

The problem, according to that article, seems to occur when you are sending non-Kindle documents and ebooks to Amazon to be converted to Kindle format so that they are readable on your Kindle device. That's the route for the malware to enter your Kindle eco-system.

Personally, I don't send any ebooks or documents to Amazon to convert to Kindle format, mainly because I don't want Amazon to directly track everything I read. The only Kindle books that are in my Kindle library are the ones that I download directly from Amazon. All other ebooks - from whatever the source - are converted to the .epub format and read on a third-party app such as Moon+ Reader on my Fire HDX or the Mantano Reader on my Nook HD. And, any Kindle books that I do buy I also download to my computer, strip out the DRM and convert them to .epubs using Calibre so that I can read them on the other ereaders that I have. I am a device-junkie so I've got a bunch of them and alternate using them depending on what mood I'm in. =)

Good info. As the thieves become more and more daring, all our accounts are under fire.

I had ordered a few items from Bookbub, but found the quality so poor, I took myself off their list. Now I use my library or Amazon. Still prefer a printed book to my reader though.

On 11/3/2014 millieshops said:

Good info. As the thieves become more and more daring, all our accounts are under fire.

I had ordered a few items from Bookbub, but found the quality so poor, I took myself off their list. Now I use my library or Amazon. Still prefer a printed book to my reader though.

BookBub is a promotional service, not a seller. If you see a book you like on BookBub, you choose who to buy it from. (I always choose Amazon.) You can't order items from BookBub itself.

I love my Kindle, but still prefer printed books too!

I borrow all my e-books from my public library. From their site, I am directed to Amazon. I hope I'm safe. Love my Kindle. docsgirl