Digital Distributors Abandon Online Game

The system, which substituted computer servers hosting Modern Warfare 2, namely 'IW.net' is reportedly compromised in such a way that it installs a Trojan on the systems connected to it while users enthusiastically play the online game, as reported by Geek on November 18, 2009.

On the same day (November 18), anti-malware agencies began warning online players about the Trojan and the news of its attacks shortly emerged on the forums of Infinity Ward. Actually, it was the working method of 'IW.net' that apparently enabled hackers to exploit the system. With the ports opened for letting the system to work, it somehow became easy to feed the Trojan straight into a player's PC, thereby contaminating it as the game continued.

The hackers had reverse engineered the IW.net system and subsequently utilized it for uploading the Trojan named 'TR/Crypt.XPACK.Gen on it. As the malware spread its infection, it deposited files inside C:\Documents as well as Settings\yourusername\Local Settings\Temp using the names ~B8.vir and ~B8.tmp. Moreover, the malicious program that a standard antivirus solution was able to detect has been rated as "low risk."

Meanwhile, GamersGate, Impulse and Direct2Drive, the leading digital distributors, have rejected the idea of supplying input to Infinity Ward's much expected shooter -Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC.

D2D explains that that when a user purchases one of its games, it must not force him to load and execute a third party software to play the game. In due course, a representative told the Gamer's Guide Kotaku that the distributor didn't believe that games should make it necessary for its user to load certain Trojan virus.

According to Internet security specialists, based on a research by Microsoft, it is evident that virus authors are increasingly targeting online games players. They are writing an increasing number of malicious programs to capture well-known Internet game login credentials.

In fact, during the 1st week of November 2009, the research unveiled certain group of malevolent software that targeted attacks against popular titles like Maple Story, World of Warcraft, Lineage and several others.

Related article: Digital Criminals Hone Their phishing Skills

» SPAMfighter News - 11/30/2009