Kodi crackdown: Facebook tries to ban pirate streaming devices, but there are still HUNDREDS available on the site

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Facebook has joined Amazon and eBay in removing Kodi boxes from its site, but the ban has been a failure as there are still hundreds freely available on its Marketplace.

These streaming devices openly promise users free pirate films and TV - making no attempt to disguise their activity.

Many of these boxes are 'fully-loaded' meaning they have plugins pre-installed for watching pirate material on the social media site.

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Facebook has updated its Commerce Policy which bans 'products or items that facilitate or encourage unauthorised access to digital media'.  However, searching for 'kodi fully loaded' returns with hundreds of options which cost between £50 - £60 ($65 - $78)

Facebook has updated its Commerce Policy which bans 'products or items that facilitate or encourage unauthorised access to digital media'. 

Despite a recent ban, hundreds of Kodi boxes are still on sale on Facebook.

Searching for 'Kodi fully loaded' returns with hundreds of options which cost between £50 - £60 ($65 - $78).

There are Amazon Fire TV sticks freely available on Facebook Marketplace as well as premium Sky channels. 

The move to ban the boxes was praised by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT). 

'It is great to see Facebook follow the likes of Amazon and eBay in making changes to their policies to prohibit the sale of illicit streaming devices on their platforms,' said Kieron Sharp, chief executive of FACT.

'These days social media sites are more than just a place to share photos and comments with friends and family.

'Unfortunately, the fast-paced development of these sites are being exploited by opportunists for criminal activity which needs to be disrupted', he said.

He said that one of FACT's priorities was combating the sale of illegal devices which affects many people in creative industries.

'Recent rulings have clarified that selling a device pre-configured to access copyrighted material is illegal and that consumers watching content via these devices without a legitimate subscription are also breaking the law', he said. 

Several people selling Kodi boxes have been fined for breaching copyright and others have faced prison sentences. 

MailOnline has contacted Facebook for comment.

Despite a recent ban, hundreds of Kodi boxes are still on sale on Facebook Searching for 'kodi fully loaded' returns with hundreds of options which cost between £50 - £60 ($65 - $78)

Earlier this month it was announced that thousands of people using Kodi boxes to stream illegal content in the UK could face up to 10 years in prison, thanks to a controversial new law.

The Digital Economy Bill warns that people making and streaming films using torrents online will be committing a criminal offence.

The software, which is legal, can even be downloaded onto an Amazon Fire stick. A Kodi Box, advertised for its Plug and Play capacity, is a set-top box or a HDMI stick with the software installed on it

The news came shortly after Amazon banned 'fully-loaded' Kodi TV boxes and other pirate devices from its global online store.

Just yesterday Kodi came under more fire as security experts warned a new cyber attack which is delivered when movie subtitles is loaded by the user's media player.

Because subtitles are treated as not suspicious by anti-virus software, an estimated 200 million players have been left vulnerable to the attack. 

Security experts have warned of a new cyber-attack that is delivered when movie subtitles are loaded by the user's media player

The cyber-attack was flagged on Tuesday by Check Point, a security software firm based in San Carlos, California.

In a blog, a spokesperson for Check Point said: 'By crafting malicious subtitle files, which are then downloaded by a victim's media player, attackers can take complete control over any type of device via vulnerabilities found in many popular streaming platforms, including VLC, Kodi (XBMC), Popcorn-Time and strem.io.

'We estimate there are approximately 200 million video players and streamers that currently run the vulnerable software, making this one of the most widespread, easily accessed and zero-resistance vulnerability reported in recent years.'

Subtitles are treated as a trusted source by media players, making them a very vulnerable target for attackers.

Check Point wrote: 'This method requires little or no deliberate action on the part of the user, making it all the more dangerous.'

While traditional attack vectors, such as malware, can easily be flagged by security firms, subtitles are simply treated as harmless text files.

Check Point said: 'This means users, Anti-Virus software, and other security solutions vet them without trying to assess their real nature, leaving millions of users exposed to this risk.'

Once the subtitles have been attacked, hackers can take complete control over any device running them.

This means that the hacker can do essentially anything he wants to a victim's device – whether it's a computer, TV or smartphone.

Check Point added: 'The potential damage the attacker can inflict is endless, ranging anywhere from stealing sensitive information, installing ransomware, mass Denial of Service attacks, and much more.'

According to Torrent Freak, Martijn Kaijser, head of the Kodi software team, said that he was aware of the attacks.

The firm has since created a fix version, but this is currently only available as source code release.

It is not clear when this version will become available to download on the official Kodi site. 

Kodi is software that enables you to streams apps and on-demand services onto your TV.

The software, which is legal, can even be downloaded onto an Amazon Fire stick.

However, it has become associated with internet piracy due to add-ons that can provide illegal content.