Even when you’re downloading one of the best PC games from Steam you need to be careful, as they can be used to infect your PC with malware.
After a game called PirateFi was released and then quickly taken down last month after it was found to be distributing malware, a new malicious game demo spreading info-stealing malware has been discovered on Valve’s game store.
As first spotted by TheGamer, the game in question — Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution — was reportedly set to release in the second half of this year. However, it has now been delisted from Steam after its demo installer infected the PCs of those who downloaded it with malware
Here’s everything you need to know about this latest malware threat on Steam including some tips and tricks to help keep your gaming PC safe from hackers and viruses.
Red flags galore
Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution was still listed on Steam earlier this week and interested players could wish list the game ahead of its release. However, they couldn’t download the game’s demo directly from Steam, which was the first major sign that something was off.
If you’ve used Steam before, you know that downloading games from the service is done entirely in Valve’s PC app. Sure, you might download a mod or a fix for a particular issue on an external site but with games themselves, everything is done within Steam itself.
Oddly enough, the game’s listed developer Sierra Six Studios went out of the way to warn gamers about not downloading the demo via external websites and to download it via Steam directly. However, they weren’t actually able to download via Steam at all which makes this warning even stranger.
Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution’s Steam page did have a link to the webpage for its developer before it was taken down. Oddly enough, this site had another link for a free demo that players could download to try out the game before release. Clicking on this link took potential players to an external GitHub repository where they could then download the game’s installer.
In a Reddit post, a user warned others early on that Sniper: Phantom’s Resolution looked suspicious. From promotional art that looked stolen from other games to the fact that you couldn’t download anything from the game’s Steam page, there were plenty of red flags that this half-backed game was one to avoid.
Another oddity spotted by this Reddit user was the fact that the game’s domain was registered a week before the demo became available to download. Typically, game developers register domains for upcoming titles years in advance or at least several months before getting a title approved via Valve and listed on Steam.
To top it all off, in an edit to their post, the Reddit user explained that they first heard about this game via a random message on Discord from someone they didn’t know. Hackers and other cybercriminals love to use Discord in their phishing scams and other attacks and a random message from an unknown sender is about as big of a red flag as you can get.
In order to see if the original poster was onto something, another user downloaded the demo and unpacked it only to find that the main executable was suspiciously labeled as “Windows Defender SmartScreen.exe.” There were other malicious files inside the demo’s installer too including a privilege escalation utility and tool used to intercept browser cookies among others.
How to keep your gaming PC safe from malware
If you did happen to download and install the malicious demo for this game, you first need to uninstall it and then use either Microsoft Defender which is built into Windows or the best antivirus software to run a full scan of your system.
Fortunately, unlike with PirateFi last month, Valve has yet to weigh in and recommend something as drastic as a full PC reset, though that’s always a great last resort when dealing with a malware infection.
Just like we’ve seen with the best Android phones, sticking to official stores instead of downloading games and apps from unofficial sources online just isn’t good enough anymore. For this reason, you want to be extra careful when installing any new software — or in this case games — on your PC.
Before downloading any game, read reviews, look at ratings and always remember, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. Pirating software or games is an easy way to end up with a nasty malware infection, too, but the same thing can be said for cheats, hacks, mods and other add-ons. Unless you know what you’re doing and go to reputable sites like Nexus Mods, you’re going to want to avoid downloading unofficial add-ons for your games. And if you’re an older gamer with teenagers, this is definitely a discussion you’re going to want to have with them too.
In the same way that it’s often best to avoid pre-ordering a game and instead wait for reviews before deciding to pick it up, you definitely don’t want to download the hot new game or mod that everyone — or in this case a stranger on Discord — is talking about online. Playing the long game and being a patient gamer won’t just save you money, it could also prevent your PC from getting infected with a virus.
Hackers and other cybercriminals will often use a service or even a product’s popularity to gauge whether or not it’s worth targeting its users or a company’s customers. Case in point, years ago, Mac malware was almost impossible to find and now, it’s everywhere and becoming an even greater threat.
We’ve now seen two malware campaigns targeting gamers on Steam and chances are, they won’t be the last ones. However, if you practice good cyber hygiene, keep a level head about you and think before you click or download, you should be able to keep your gaming PC and your data safe.
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