Minecraft it’s addictive Minecraft is popular. That combination means there is a batch of us playing the game for hours on end every day. While that’s good for him. Minecraft community in general, it is also good for hackers. They don’t see millions of Minecraft gamers: they see millions of targets for malware.
As reported by BleepingComputerKaspersky security researchers discovered that Minecraft it accounts for a whopping 25% of malware spread through PC video games. That’s more than double the next leading game, fifa, as it represents only 11% of gaming malware traffic. Other “winners” include Roblox at 9.5%, Very far at 9.4%, and Obligations at 9%, but there are many other games that criminals treat as malware conduits.
While the vast majority of this malware spreads from PC games, the malware spreads via mobile games, Minecraft remains in the lead, with 40% of the share. Oh!
Most of these malicious Minecraft cases result in downloaders on your computer. Downloaders often bypass security software and then install nasty malware like data stealers or cryptocurrency miners on your machine. However, adware (serving users with malicious advertisements) and Trojans (malware masquerading as legitimate software) are also in the mix, which can steal your personal information or allow bad guys access to your computer.
How to avoid malware from Minecraft and other games
It is not risky to just play these games. As long as you bought the game from a reputable market and play as intended, you won’t have to worry about malware any more than you would playing on a Nintendo Switch or PlayStation. However, the risk comes from diving into the more clandestine components of a game, namely mods, cheats, and hacking.
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The first piece of advice here is this: Don’t pirate the games. Ethics aside, bad actors use players’ wishes to play against them for free, offering fake versions of popular games. You risk downloading a “free” version of a game that all the world is playing games, as there are many incentives for a bad actor to put malware in its place.
Pirated games also allow bad actors to create fake in-app stores. Since so many games these days use in-app purchase, many gamers don’t think about buying items and upgrades through these marketplaces. However, these fake in-app stores do not offer real products in return. Instead, they steal your information and use it to make purchases on your behalf. In short, again, don’t pirate the games.
Be very careful when installing mods. Mods are a great way to improve your game on PC, and there are some fantastic developers out there who are doing some great work. However, because mods and other game cheats are not supported by game developers, there is no regulation or supervision for them. That environment makes it all too easy for bad guys to advertise their product as a legitimate mod, only to install malware on your machine.
The sites these mods are hosted on can also be malicious. Even if the link is valid, the site may be full of ads or fake download links. You to think you are clicking the correct download button, but in fact that option downloads something nefarious or takes you to a new malicious URL.
When installing mods, try to stick with the ones with high download rates and good reviews. It can be risky to download that new mod from an unknown developer, when there is no one to back its legitimacy. If a modder asks you to disable your antivirus software to run their program, don’t. While some modders have problems with antivirus software, this scheme allows malicious users to bypass their security systems. do not do it
Don’t forget to keep your computer and your games up to date with the latest software patches. These updates can help protect against security vulnerabilities.
How to know if your PC already has malware
Sure, these tips are helpful in avoiding gaming malware on the go. future, but what about any malware you’ve detected in the past? Could your PC harbor runaway software right now?
Take note of any strange symptoms your computer is experiencing. Is something causing your computer to get hot, even when no programs are visibly running? Maybe your computer is running slowly out of nowhere. Are strange links opening in your web browser, or mysterious pop-ups invading your desktop?
If so, the best thing to do is run a program that looks for known malware, such as malwarebytes. This app will scan for any malware on your PC, identify it and help you remove it for good. It’s a good idea to regularly scan for viruses and malware, especially on a PC, to make sure nothing nefarious sneaks through the door.
If you want to see if your computer’s problem is based on third-party software (and thus potentially a malware problem), you can boot into safe mode, which runs only Microsoft programs. There are a variety of ways to boot into safe mode, both in Windows 10 and Windows 11, as you can see at this Microsoft support page.
You can also scan your computer yourself to find for any strange files you didn’t want to download. However, this strategy can be tricky, as system files can often seem intimidating or strange. If you see something obviously scary, like minecrafttrojan.exe, remove it yourself.
