PC gamers, watch out New malware is targeting accounts at Steam, Epic Games, EA Origin, Bethesda, and GOG

The malware, dubbed "BloodyStealer" by its discoverer Kaspersky, steals session cookies, passwords, and credit cards, takes screenshots, profiles infected PCs, and attempts to hide from antivirus software It tries to hide

It is active in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and Latin America, but like most malware, it does not work on computers in Russia or other former Soviet republics

Dmitry Galov, a security researcher at Kaspersky, said, "Gaming accounts are clearly targeted by cybercriminals If you want to enjoy your gaming experience in peace and not worry about losing your in-game credits or account, protect your account with two-factor authentication and secure your device with a trusted security solution"

Stolen online gaming platform accounts can be sold on the black market, often packaged in bundles Even session cookies that provide only temporary access to someone else's game are valuable

Potential bad guys can "subscribe" to BloodyStealer for about $10 per month

It is up to the subscriber to package the malware and deliver it to the victim Infection routes vary, but often take the form of pirated games, "cracks" of license codes, or software updates

To avoid infection with BloodyStealer and similar malware, do not download pirated or cracked games, be careful of links in game chats, install and run the best Windows 10 antivirus software, and scan your downloads with anti-virus software before running the installation process

To prevent online gaming accounts from being stolen by any means, use two-factor authentication (2FA) as indicated above - click here to see how to set up 2FA with Epic Games - log out when not using your gaming account, and using one of the best password managers to generate strong, unique passwords and "remember" them all

"BloodyStealer is a prime example of an advanced tool used by cybercriminals to break into the gaming market," Galov and fellow Kaspersky researchers Leonid Bezvershenko and Marc Rivero said in a technical report Galov and his colleagues Leonid Bezvershenko and Marc Rivero, Kaspersky researchers, stated in a technical report With efficient anti-detection technology and attractive pricing, we expect to see it combined with other malware families in the near future"