Steam Removed PirateFi Malware, Fake Game, Best Tips to Protect PC

About Steam Game PirateFi with Malware

On February 6, the publisher Seaworth Interactive released a game named PirateFi on Steam. This game billed itself as a thrilling survival game, allowing playing solo or with others. At first glance, it looks like any survival game. However, this fake game contains malware.

According to a forum post on Steam, one user noticed something was off – his antivirus software blocked him from running PirateFi and marked it as carrying Trojan.Win32.Lazzzy.gen. After an investigation, the PirateFi fake game would install by itself in the AppData/Temp directory as Howard.exe.

Besides, some other users also found the PirateFi malware, saying the stuff was hacked, passwords were changed, browser cookies were stolen to access various online accounts, money in Roblox account was stolen, scam links were sent to their friends, etc. Upon launch of the Steam game PirateFi, Windows PCs are infected.

The interesting thing is this game has positive reviews on Steam – many reviews point out it is a scam but more ones discuss how great this game is. Actually, AI created these positive reviews. According to a reader, PirateFi was also circulated on Telegram, an instant messaging service.

Also read: Is Steam Safe? In Terms of 3 Aspects — PC, Money, and Kids

After receiving users’ reports, Valve took down this fake game from Steam. Fortunately, not many people played it. We find PirateFi only has 165 followers and at most 5 players on SteamDB. While VG Insights says it has 1,530 units sold and Gamalytic shows it gets 859 downloads.

What a nasty thing! What if you suffer from PirateFi malware? Find measures from the following part.

What to Do in Case of Steam PirateFi

Aiming at affected users who downloaded the PirateFi fake game on Steam, Valve issued an urgent warning via sending an email to demonstrate how to respond to the security breach.

This cooperation strongly encourages you to use an antivirus product you use regularly or trust to run a full scan of the entire system and check for unexpected or newly installed programs. Besides, consider fully formatting the OS to remove any malicious software.

Let’s explore the detailed steps.

Run a Full Scan for Malware

In Windows 10/11, you may notice the built-in antivirus software, Windows Security. Run it to implement a full scan to detect any malicious software and other threats, then remove them.

Step 1: In Search, type Windows Security and press Enter.

Step 2: Go to Virus & threat protection > Scan options and tick Full scan.

Step 3: Click Scan now to initialize the scanning process.

How to Run Windows Defender Full/Quick/Custom/Offline Scan

Check how to run Windows/Microsoft Defender full/quick/custom/offline scan to scan for malware or virus on your Windows 10/11 computer.

Read More

Reset Your PC

Fully reformatting means resetting your PC, which is the only way you can make sure no malicious software remains on your system. This operation erases your important data, so if possible, back up crucial files and folders. The backup software, MiniTool ShadowMaker, comes in handy. Get it and begin PC backup.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Next, navigate to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery in Windows 10, click Get started, select Remove everything, and follow the instructions to remove all your files, apps, and settings. Another way to remove PirateFi malware is to clean install Windows using a bootable USB drive from ISO.

Final Words

What is PirateFi fake game on Steam? How to keep your PC against PirateFi malware? You can learn much information about this fake game with malware, as well as suggestions given by Valve Corporation to handle it. Do as it says to protect the impacted PC.