New
#1
PC game trainers classified as game hacks, means trojan or virus?
I have been using game trainers (which modify a PC game to do something other than the game maker intended) from CheatHappens (CH) on single player PC games for many years. They update them for current games, usually until the last game patch is made. They usually work, but subscription members can ask for an update or fix, which usually comes pretty quickly.
For some older games like Civilization 5, which hasn't been updated in over a year, the trainer would show up in my AV software (MS Security Essentials with Real-Time protection) as malicious.
CH suggests I scan the trainer (it's an EXE file) at Jottis malware scan which scans it with a few dozen anti-virus programs and gives a report. Usually about 30-40% of the AV vendor results come back as 'positive' for a virus or trojan.
I submitted one file I used in 2016 with no problems and now comes up as a virus by Security Essentials to F-Secure for analysis and got this back in an email:
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Greetings,
Thank you for your submission.
Our analysis indicates that the file you submitted is a Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA) and is detected as Trojan.Generic.22696973. We categorized it as a riskware because the software is a game hack which the behavior like that is unwanted. However, if you are aware of and accept the potential risk associated with this program, you can configure the F-Secure security product to exclude it from scanning.
If there is anything else we can help you with, please do not hesitate to contact us again.
Best regards,
Li Ken
Malware Analyst
F-Secure Security Labs
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So, what is the definition of a 'game hack'? Is it something I would not want if I wasn't aware of it (someone griefing me) but DO want if I knowingly run it? or something more malicious? What is the general consensus by those who know a little about PC security?
Thanks in advance,
Yet another Steve online