Odlanor Spyware Used on PokerStars and Full Tilt

Cyber-security experts have discovered a serious spyware threat to players using the two biggest poker sites – PokerStars and Full Tilt.

ESET has revealed details of how the spyware trojan known as 'Odlanor' exposes the hole cards of unsuspecting players by sending screenshots from their computers directly to cheaters, who then use the information to ‘outplay’ the unfortunate victims.

The malware is apparently installed secretly along with certain poker software programs including Poker Office, Tournament Shark and Poker Calculator Pro. The downloads are believed to have been from unofficial torrent sites, and have mainly affected Eastern European online players.

Only two sites have been targeted so far, but they are the biggest in the poker world – PokerStars and Full Tilt. The Odlanor malware firstly ascertains if the sites are running, and if so, it then proceeds to capture screenshots of the victim’s cards, before sending them on to the criminal parties behind the trojan infection.

Apparently the ‘infection’ also seeks out the ID of the player, which can then be used to find where that person is playing; the person behind the malware can then join that table and view the victim’s cards. It is not clear yet whether the subsequent cheating of the victim is done manually (by another player) or by some automated program (a bot).

ESET has released data of the infected computers’ countries of origin –at least those known so far – with Russia and Ukraine counting for over 70% of the Trojan’s spread.