Games Clever pirate adds Bitcoin miner to Watch Dogs torrent By Matthew Humphries 05.26.2014 :: 9:03AM EDT @mthwgeek With the imminent release of any high profile video game, there inevitably are a number of pirate copies made available through torrents on peer-to-peer networks.Choosing to download one of these illegal copies of a game comes with a lot of risk on the part of the downloader.If you’re lucky, you get a clean version of the game, but more often than not there’s malware attached.In the case of Watch Dogs, which is officially released tomorrow, one pirate has decided to use the game for a get rich quick scheme.Their torrent version, known as the Skidrow release, bundles with it a hidden Bitcoin miner virus.Anyone attempting to run the game from this torrent will also activate the Bitcoin miner on their PC, and in turn start generating Bitcoin for whoever added the miner to this release.The side effect for the user is a big chunk of CPU time dedicated to mining Bitcoin for someone else and no actual guarantee the game will work.

That means more heat and power use, and an unstable PC in some cases.dogecoin rateYour PC is also running a virus, so who knows what else it will be susceptible to running in the future.dogecoin rateThere are apparently two versions of the Skidrow releases of Watch Dogs–the real one and a fake one which includes the Bitcoin miner virus.bitcoin usage per countryBut rather than trying to find the torrent without the virus attached, why not go and purchase the game instead.bitcoin nedir youtubeThat way you won’t be risking a virus and actually paying the developer for their years of hard work producing the game.ensayo de bitcoin

Recently we have seen an emerging trend among malware distributors – Bitcoin miners being integrated into installers of game repacks.length of bitcoin blockchainThis type of system hijacking is just one of the many ways to exploit a user by utilizing their system’s computing resources to earn more cash.Malware is easily bundled with game installers that are then uploaded and shared with unsuspecting users using torrent download sites.Once a machine is infected, a downloaded Bitcoin miner silently carries out mining operations without the user’s consent.We have seen this technique used by Trojan:Win32/Maener.A.This threat is dropped by TrojanDropper:Win32/Maener.A as a bundle with some games.Some of the torrent files names we have seen bundled with this threat are: These files can be easily acquired by anyone who downloads games from a torrent website.The games are repacked to further lure gamers to download the compressed files for free.

The installer that we detect as TrojanDropper:Win32/Maener.A is available in Russian and English languages only.It seems to be primarily affecting Russian users, as shown by its infection telemetry.Figure 1: The five countries with the highest number of detections An example of the game installer execution is depicted in Figure 2.When the installer application (setup.exe) is run, Trojan:Win32/Maener.A also executes in the background and downloads its Bitcoin mining components.Figure 2: An example of a game installer.When run, the installer also executes the malware payload Trojan:Win32/Maener.A can be found running under the filename ActivateDesktop.exe.It uses this reputable file name in order to hide its true identity.When run, it connects to a remote server, eventually downloading a Bitcoin miner and installing it on the system.The Bitcoin miner is installed as connost.exe and can be launched with the command prompt: We have also seen this miner use the file names minerd.exe, svchost.exe and winhost.exe.

Trojan:Win32/Maener.A also adds the following registry entry to enable its automatic execution at every system startup: To help stay protected, we recommend you to install an up-to-date, real-time protection security product such as Microsoft Security Essentials, or Windows Defender for Windows 8.1.And, most importantly, only download from legitimate and reputable sources.In your own virtual world, you’re running down a street, buying prostitutes, robbing people, killing cops.Through it all, you’ve got bitcoins at stake.This is the sort of game which could be forthcoming thanks to new technology like, Bitcoin, the digital currency designed in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto.Grand Theft Auto, the open world action-adventure video games series, could get more open-world: that is, by incorporating digital currency.The game, created by David Jones and Mike Daily, features fictional locales modelled on American cities, such as Liberty City, Vice City or San Andreas.The open world layout allows players to choose missions to progress the story, while at the same time engaging in side-quests that includes a heavy dose of action-adventure, driving, third-person shooting, occasional role-playing, stealth and racing.

The game is adult in nature containing violent themes, while being satirical and humorous.What if, during these side activities, players could earn, steal, win bitcoin, just like in reality.It is exactly this sort of gaming technology that could, when all is said and done, prove to be bitcoin’s killer app alongside payment services.Gaming, to be sure, is one of the biggest virtual markets in the world, and it could prove to grow even bigger when it incorporate a quasi-gambling element.Grand Theft Auto V brought in more than $800 million worldwide.Three days after release, the game surpassed one billion dollars in sales, making it the fastest selling entertainment product in history.It broke several Guinness World records including bets selling video game in 24 hours, best selling action-adventure video game in 24 hours, highest grossing video game in 24 hours, fastest entertainment property to gross $1  billion and others.By putting money at stake, the game, or another like it, could create demand among not only the gaming community, but, also, the Bitcoin community and the millions of users who log onto the internet each, not for entertainment purposes, but to make money.