Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Twitch
    Game on Aus
    • News
      Revive, a new Australian Government arts policy

      Australian Government To Revive Interactive Games Fund

      January 30, 2023

      The Government announced the return of the Australian Interactive Games Fund as part of a new national cultural policy, Revive.

      James Bond spy running from fire

      Golden Eye comes to Game Pass in February 2023

      January 26, 2023

      Exciting times ahead, as Microsoft announced the next wave of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for Console, Cloud and…

      Developer_Direct presented by Xbox & Bethesda

      Developer_Direct presented by Xbox & Bethesda

      January 26, 2023

      Today, Xbox and Bethesda presented the first ever Developer_Direct, which provided an inside look at some of the biggest games…

      The Kid Laroi x Fornite - Wild Dreams

      The Kid Laroi’s Wild Dreams – New Interactive Fortnite Experience starting 28 Jan

      January 24, 2023

      [This media release has been provided by Double Jump and is presented by the GOA team for your information] Australian…

      2K Game announce WWE2K23 Cover Athlete

      2K Game announce WWE2K23 Cover Athlete

      January 23, 2023

      [This media release has been provided by 2K Games and is presented by the GOA team for your information] The…

      View All
    • Reviews
      front view of white elgato microphone

      The Elgato Wave 3

      January 28, 2023

      THE Elgato Wave 3 is an excellent microphone for streaming and podcasting. The built-in audio interface makes it easy to…

      Dead Space review – Return to the dark

      Dead Space review – Return to the dark

      January 27, 2023

      DEAD SPACE has long been a highly regarded franchise in the horror community. Ever since its original release back in…

      Fire Emblem Engage – Review

      Fire Emblem Engage – Review

      January 24, 2023

      THE Fire Emblem series remains more popular than ever and several of the games, including the latest one, Fire Emblem Engage,…

      One Piece Odyssey – Review

      One Piece Odyssey – Review

      January 18, 2023

      CONFESSION time: I’ve never watched any of the One Piece anime shows – or any anime, to be honest -…

      Samurai Maiden Review – You talk too much

      Samurai Maiden Review – You talk too much

      December 21, 2022

      SAMURAI Maiden has finally released after some time in early access on Steam on PlayStation 4, 5, Nintendo Switch and…

      View All
    • Podcasts
      Nuts & Bolts Hero Card Ep 71

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 71: 2023 Starts With A BANG!

      January 28, 2023

      Natty and Jim have their work cut out for them catching up on all the esports news! From ESL launching…

      The Weekly Show Ep 268 Hero Card

      The Weekly Show Ep 268: Out With The Old, In With The New…Year

      December 16, 2022

      Doomcutie joins Stormie and Jim as they talk through mods, leaks and so much more! Plus our Bloody Good Game Of The Week thanks to Aussie Broadband.

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 70 Hero Card

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 70: Farewell 2022

      December 10, 2022

      In their last show for 2022 Jim gets fired up about an incident in Argentinian Valorant, Natty laments the end…

      The Weekly Show Ep 267 Hero Card

      The Weekly Show Ep 267: Consulting The Crystal Ball For The Game Awards

      December 9, 2022

      Doomcutie joins Stormie and Jim as they talk through mods, leaks and so much more! Plus our Bloody Good Game Of The Week thanks to Aussie Broadband.

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 69 Hero Card

      Nuts & Bolts Ep 69: Noice

      December 3, 2022

      Jim flies solo as he recaps the ANZPL Grand Final. He talks League of Legends player movements, an OWL team…

      View All
    • Categories
      • BY PLATFORM
        • Playstation
        • Xbox
        • Nintendo
        • PC
        • Mobile
        • VR
        • Retro
      • BY GENRE
        • Action
        • Action-Adventure
        • Battle Royale
        • Fighting
        • FPS
        • Horror Games
        • RPG
        • Simulation
        • Sports
        • MMORPG
        • MOBA
        • Platformer
        • Strategy
        • Survival
        • Indie
      • GOA ESSENTIALS
        • Esports
        • Conventions
        • Tabletop
        • Hardware
        • Funny
        • Streaming
        • Win
        • Podcast
        • Video
    • More
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
    Game on Aus
    Home » Cryptomining malware targeting pirated game downloads
    Cryptomining malware targeting pirated game downloads
    FEATURE

    Cryptomining malware targeting pirated game downloads

    GOA StaffBy GOA StaffJune 29, 2021
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    IT’S time for a periodic reminder that games piracy is generally bad*, not only for the developers and teams making the game but potentially for the people downloading illegal versions of the game too.

    *There’s arguably moral grey area for old abandonware/orphaned games where there’s no practical way to work out who actually owns the copyright anymore, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.

    The researchers at Avast have identified a piece of cryptomining malware named “Crackonosh”, which is targeting gamers with cryptomining malware delivered via pirated versions of popular games.

    Cryptomining malware targeting pirated game downloads
    The Crackonosh cryptomining malware has infected more than 222,000 computers around the world, including more than 3700 systems in Australia/NZ

    According to Avast, the malware has been circulating since at least June 2018 and has infected more than 2,800 systems in Australia and 900 in New Zealand as part of more than 222,000 global infections, netting its creators more than AUD$2.6m to date.

    The researchers also note “the number could be significantly higher as this is only what Avast software has detected” and that “Avast Threat Labs data also shows that over 800 devices continue to be infected every day”.

    The researchers reported finding the malware in cracked/pirated versions of the following games being distributed via torrents:

    • NBA 2K19
    • Grand Theft Auto V
    • Far Cry  5
    • The Sims 4 Seasons
    • Euro Truck Simulator 2
    • The Sims 4
    • Jurassic World Evolution
    • Fallout 4 GOTY
    • Call of Cthulhu
    • Pro Evolution Soccer 2018
    • We Happy Few
    Cryptomining malware targeting pirated game downloads
    Crackonosh installs itself by replacing critical Windows system files and then disables system defences, including Windows Defender and anti-virus/anti-malware programs.

    Avast Threat Labs researcher Daniel Beneš said the malware installed itself by replacing critical Windows system files and then disabled system defences including Windows Defender and anti-virus/anti-malware programs.

     “This malware further protects itself by disabling some security software, operating system updates and employs other anti-analysis techniques to prevent discovery, making it very difficult to detect and remove,” he said.

    “Once installed, the malware uses your computer in the background for cryptomining, helping the cybercriminals gain cryptocurrency by using the processing power of the malware-infected computers to solve complex mathematical problems and verify cybercurrency transactions.

    “Infected users may notice that their computer is overheating or slowing down substantially in how it performs very simple processing tasks, but sometimes it can be hard to detect.

    “As long as people continue to download cracked software, attacks like these will continue to be profitable for attackers. The key take-away from this is that you really can’t get something for nothing and when you try to steal software, odds are someone is trying to steal from you.”

    The advice on how to avoid malware threats like Crackonosh is threefold:

    • Don’t download/torrent pirated video games
    • Make sure you’re running a robust anti-virus/anti-malware program
    • Keep Windows up to date

    If you’re of a technical/IT bent, the Avast Threat Labs piece on Crackonosh has comprehensive details of the threat, how it works, how to recognize it, and how to remove it: https://decoded.avast.io/danielbenes/crackonosh-a-new-malware-distributed-in-cracked-software/

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleSteelSeries Rival 5 gaming mouse review
    Next Article The Remastered Crysis Experience Is Coming Later This Year

    Related Posts

    front view of white elgato microphone
    GAMING REVIEWS January 28, 2023

    The Elgato Wave 3

    THE Elgato Wave 3 is an excellent microphone for streaming and podcasting. The built-in audio interface makes it easy to…

    Game on Australia’s Most Anticipated Video Game titles of 2023
    FEATURE January 28, 2023

    Game on Australia’s Most Anticipated Video Game titles of 2023

    WELL, a new year is upon us and with that, the future’s looking bright for another year of new release…

    Subscribe

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    Ads

    Categories
    • ACTION
    • ACTION-ADVENTURE
    • APPLE
    • BATTLE ROYALE
    • CLOUD GAMING
    • CONVENTIONS
    • ESPORTS
    • Events
    • FEATURE
    • FIGHTING
    • FPS
    • FUNNY
    • GAMING HARDWARE
    • GAMING NEWS
    • GAMING REVIEWS
    • GIFT GUIDE
    • GOA
    • GOA PODCAST
    • HORROR GAMES
    • INDIE GAMING
    • Industry
    • MMORPG
    • MOBA
    • MOBILE
    • NINTENDO
    • Open-World
    • OPINION
    • PC
    • PLATFORMER
    • PLAYSTATION
    • Press Release
    • PREVIEW
    • RACING
    • RETRO
    • RPG
    • SIMULATION
    • SPORTS
    • STRATEGY
    • STREAMING
    • SUBSCRIPTION GAMES SERVICE UPDATES
    • SURVIVAL
    • TABLETOP GAMING
    • TECH
    • VIDEO
    • VR
    • XBOX
    Related Article
    Revive, a new Australian Government arts policy
    GAMING NEWS

    Australian Government To Revive Interactive Games Fund

    January 30, 2023Darren 'Str8JaktJim' MacneallBy Darren 'Str8JaktJim' Macneall

    The Government announced the return of the Australian Interactive Games Fund as part of a new national cultural policy, Revive.

    front view of white elgato microphone
    GAMING REVIEWS

    The Elgato Wave 3

    January 28, 2023DoomcutieBy Doomcutie

    THE Elgato Wave 3 is an excellent microphone for streaming and podcasting. The built-in audio interface makes it easy to connect to your computer…

    Game on Australia’s Most Anticipated Video Game titles of 2023
    FEATURE

    Game on Australia’s Most Anticipated Video Game titles of 2023

    January 28, 2023Mikeey BarrowBy Mikeey Barrow

    WELL, a new year is upon us and with that, the future’s looking bright for another year of new release titles to come out.…

    Game on Australia Logo

    Game On Aus is an Australian games publication working across written, video and podcast, and supported by an ever-growing community of content creators and fans!

    Copyright GameOnAus 2023. Privacy Policy. Website by Digital Hitmen

    CONTENT
    • News
    • Gaming Reviews
    • Podcast
    • Tech
    • Indie
    ABOUT GOA
    • About Us
    • Contact

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.