Vectors for spreading malware to gamers often overlap with phishing methods.
#AVAST GOG GALAXY FULL#
A successful phishing attack may not result in a full takeover of the player’s account, but instead allows the intruder to take anything valuable from their Steam inventory or MMO character and move on. Games also give successful phishers more options than other fields. The common interest in gaming lends credence, and even trust, to a phishing email. One frequent tactic is to set up a fake login page, or to pose as a friend and attempt to send malicious links via chat platforms. Phishers aren’t limited to the standard fraudulent emails typically used to trick users into giving up login credentials. Phishing campaigns are frequently targeted against players of popular games. Other games will give you access to players’ scores, providing access to basically all the user names used in the game – or at least those of the top players, which will be even more valuable. For example, Battlefield 5 has a competitive mode of up to 64 players, which means a single game provides a potential malicious actor up to 63 usernames on which to try common or default passwords. Many games also complete half the work for potential attackers by themselves often, simply seeing another player in-game will reveal their username. This leaves gamers needing to remember and manage dozens of passwords, and older games can be easily forgotten with account credentials going un-updated for years.
#AVAST GOG GALAXY PASSWORD#
requires an account some game companies such as Epic Games and Rockstar require an account to play games or access social features most multiplayer online games will require a password all to themselves. Each distribution platform - Steam, Origin, etc. Password reuse is a common issue, as the average gamer needs to manage accounts for multiple distribution platforms, publishers, and games themselves. The methods themselves are no different to what users in any other field face, but gamers can experience some unique risk factors and circumstances. Whether a hacker is aiming to take over an account for the virtual wealth of the player’s character or the player’s real-world data, they have a variety of ways to make a successful hack. In-game transactions and monthly subscriptions for online games mean that financial information is often included with a user’s data. The more personal the data, the more valuable it is to hackers, and mobile games often track such intimate information as location, media engagement, and even phone calls.
Online and mobile games gather a large amount of data on their users. Most often, however, it’s players’ accounts that are the most valuable to hackers, and therefore the most often targeted. There have been cases of hackers stealing such items from Steam inventories, as well as stealing entire accounts on Origin. Steam also allows players to hold and trade supplementary, virtual items like wallpapers, stickers, and in-game cosmetics. Players frequently manage all or most of their games through a single account, and long-term Steam users can have libraries of hundreds of games. Many games are published, sold, and authenticated online on distribution platforms like Steam, Origin, GOG Galaxy, and others. This also applies to the games themselves.
#AVAST GOG GALAXY MOD#
A moderator (aka Mod Jed) for RuneScape, one of the longest-running online games, recently exploited his elevated privileges to steal virtual money (45 billion in-game coins) with a real-world value of $100,000 from players. No matter how old the game, where there’s a strong player-base, there’s value. Accounts with large amounts of in-game currency or access to rare, prestigious in-game items can fetch high real-world prices.
Although the virtual money earned in-game can’t be used in the real world, it’s still a commodity with real value to players. In-game economies have essentially provided a precursor to cryptocurrency. So, what do hackers stand to gain by targeting video games and their players? Virtual valuables While video games are entertainment, players often trust as much of their personal information to game companies as they would to their workplace, to online shopping or even to financial institutions. Compared with books, movies, TV, and music, it’s also the most inherently digital medium. Video games are now the world’s largest entertainment industry. And the best game hackers can earn a lot of money. Then they sell those goods to other gamers inside the game for real-world money.
Hackers hack gamers and steal virtual goods. But inside the game, it is a completely different world where only some of the normal rules of civilized behavior apply.
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