Star Wars The Last Jedi WARNING as ‘free movie streams’ and ‘torrent files’ surface

Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi hit cinemas across the UK yesterday, and debuts in the United States today.

The hotly-anticipated blockbuster follows on from the events of JJ Abrams’ Star Wars The Force Awakens, which debuted in 2015.

It has received a shower of praise from critics and fans.

At the time of writing, Episode VIII The Last Jedi holds a 94 per cent approval rating on critical aggregate site, Rotten Tomatoes.

Capitalising on the flurry of excitement around the launch of the new Star Wars movie, a slew of websites claiming to have free streams and torrents of the film has appeared online.

Searching online reveals a swathe of sites, with some claiming to have 4K Ultra HD copies of the movie available to watch for free.

However, fans should avoid clicking on any of these links.

First of all, streaming paid-for content for free without the permission of the rightsholder is illegal.

The Digital Economy Act, which came into effect in October 2017, extends criminal penalties for online copyright infringement to match those of physical copyright infringement.

That means the maximum prison sentence that can be awarded in online copyright infringement cases has increased from two years to 10 years.

Aside from the concerns around piracy, there are also some serious security implications when clicking on sites that offer the chance to stream films that only recently debuted in the cinema.

Avast Consumer Security Expert Pete Turner spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk about the dangers of visiting these sites.

Mr Turner said: “Hackers are always trying to tempt normally cautious people into letting their guards down online. When they spot an opportunity to capitalise on people’s desires, they pounce.

“We saw this as recently as last month with large-scale phishing attempts on Black Friday shoppers looking for bargains. This is just another example, utilising what will likely be one of the most popular films of the year.

“It’s no secret that there are many illegal copies of films and TV shows available online. But it’s highly unlikely that a copy of a such a major release would be accessible so soon after the premiere.

“Anybody charmed by the idea of watching the film in advance should remember that if it looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

“It is highly likely that the links to download the movie are malicious and will infect your device or computer with malware as soon as you click on it, particularly if you download an executable file like a ‘video player’.

“If you have strong antivirus software installed, it should flag any malicious files and block the threat. If you don’t have antivirus then download a free program and run a scan for any possible vulnerabilities.

“Of course, the best advice is to not take part in film piracy, period, and pay to see the movie in the cinema or when it is available on a legitimate streaming service.”

If you have already fallen for one of these sites, it’s worth scanning your machine for viruses.