Video game crack code hides rootkit malware

Video game addicts, be warned: that cracked code for your computer game may just come bundled with a rootkit that may attack your computer.

 

Sunbelt/GFI Labs said one such code hooks in addicts of the video game "Pro Evolution Soccer 2012" (or "World Soccer: Winning Eleven 2012").

 

In a blog post, it said users who click on a YouTube account holder's link to the crack - a file hosted on www.mediafire.com - will download a compressed file "Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 Keygen."

 

The file contains an HTML file, a text file, and another compressed file, which contains the key generator application.

 

"(But) the text file doesn't actually contain the password it claims to have. Instead, it contains a shortened URL users must visit to get the password from," Sunbelt/GFI Labs said.

 

Worse, it said the MediaFire URL is also mentioned on other website platforms that allow the embedding of video clips.

 

Gamers who visit the URL are shown a survey page they must answer before their password is given to them.

 

However, users who fill in the survey and get the password to run the keygen will end up installing malware on their systems.

 

The malware is ZeroAccess, a sophisticated rootkit known for overwriting critical OS files. "Luckily, almost all AV vendors detect this one," Sunbelt/GFI said.

 

"The more the URL is out there, the more likely someone can and will install the rootkit onto their systems. Stay safe, everyone!" it said. — TJD, GMA News