Moscow, February 20, 2025 –Gamers beware! Fake game installers are secretly hijacking PCs for crypto mining. If your PC is slower than usual, you could be a victim.
Gamers worldwide are being tricked into downloading fake game installers laced with cryptocurrency mining malware, hijacking their powerful gaming PCs for illicit crypto-mining.
The large-scale cyberattack, codenamed StaryDobry, was first detected by Kaspersky researchers and has been spreading through torrent sites since late 2024.
The attackers are using popular simulation and physics-based games like BeamNG.drive, Garry’s Mod, Dyson Sphere Program, and Universe Sandbox to lure unsuspecting users.
These repackaged installers come with a hidden malware dropper that quietly installs an XMRig crypto miner, targeting high-performance CPUs with 8 or more cores. A cybersecurity expert Tatyana Shishkova said:
This is a calculated attack. Gamers often have powerful PCs, making them ideal targets for hidden crypto mining operations.
Once installed, the malware evades detection by checking if it’s running in a sandboxed or debugging environment before deploying its payload. It also monitors system processes and immediately shuts down if a user opens Task Manager or Process Monitor, making it harder to detect.
The crypto miner then hijacks the system’s processing power, significantly slowing down gameplay, overheating components, and increasing electricity bills—all while generating illicit Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency for the attackers. Cybersecurity analyst Kirill Korchemny warned:
If your PC is suddenly overheating, lagging, or your electricity bill is skyrocketing, you might be mining crypto for hackers.
Hackers are sneaking crypto miners into fake game downloads, your PC could be working for them right now! Stay secure and anonymous with ExpressVPN.
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