Assessing The Threat Odlanor Spyware Poses For iPoker Players

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Wednesday, October 14th, 2015 | Written by Shane Larson

News about the spyware program Odlanor that is targeting poker players and causing them to consistently lose on online poker sites has some people scared to visit the virtual tables. When you assess the risks of Odlanor, it becomes clear that while it’s wise for players to take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety online, it’s not time to panic.

Media Spurring Alarm

Much of the alarm about Odlanor can be blamed on the way that the media has covered the discovery of the spyware. In the interest of getting people to click their online articles, many publications have run stories with startling headlines that make it seem as if everyone who plays poker is at risk of becoming a victim. The stories are even sparking debate as to whether iGaming should remain legal in places where it is, due to the threat of Odlanor.

Putting Things Into Perspective

The Odlanor spyware story is much like other instances of security breaches that have occurred outside of the iGaming world. Hackers frequently target individual users to gain access to a network. Online poker has been hit before with these types of malware, and it didn’t lead to widespread compromises. In fact, estimates are that only 700 players worldwide were affected by Odlanor out of 2.3 million users on PokerStars and Full Tilt.

Protecting Yourself

If you’re a player who is concerned about the threat of Odlanor and other malware programs, you can follow some basic steps to protect yourself.

1. Make sure you have an antivirus program installed on your computer. Keep the program up to date and your subscription active at all times.

2. Do not use passwords that can be easily guessed and have a different password for every site that you use. Change your password regularly and don’t store your passwords in a file on your computer.

3. Always take advantage of two-step or two-factor authentication when a poker site offers it.

4. Never click links on emails that seem suspicious. When in doubt, contact the company or person that supposedly sent you the email using a verified email address for them to inquire about the email before opening it.

5. Avoid using torrent and other file transfer sites. Odlanor originated from people downloading unofficial copies of poker software programs, and hackers are known for distributing malicious programs through these types of unregulated services.

6. Consider using a different computer or a virtual workstation for iGaming.

Can Operators Do Anything?

A lot of the articles that discuss Odlanor criticize poker sites for not doing more to protect users from the malware, but in reality, there isn’t much that any website, even outside of iGaming, can do when users end up with malware through email phishing scams or torrent download sites.

In some cases, there are some regulations in place that require poker sites to take steps to protect players by using certain security measures. Sites can also offer two-step authentication as mentioned above, but in the end, it’s really up to players to protect themselves.

UKGC Assesses Integrity of iPoker Industry

In related news, and with a potential bearing on the whole online poker world, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) recently announced it was conducting a survey designed to safeguard the integrity of the industry. While the Commission primarily cites third-party tracking software as the primary focus of its study, of equal importance is the recent spate of collusion, poker bot use, and malware infection online. In terms of the aforementioned Win32/Spy.Odlanor, the largest number of infections seem to originate from Eastern European countries, including Russia (36%), Ukraine (35%), Kazakhstan (11%), and Belarus (10%).

Information collated by the UKGC survey is expected to lead to a “future formal consultation on remote technical standards”, ultimately resulting in a safer, more attractive iPoker environment for players. As a UKGC spokesman stated:

“We want this information in order to assess whether the current controls in Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) and the Remote Gambling and Software Technical Standards (RTS) are sufficient to ensure online poker is crime free, fair and open and children and vulnerable people are protected.”

Only be protecting the integrity of online poker can operators then hope to attract recreational players back to their virtual tables. This segment of players represents the life-blood of the industry, without whom internet poker cannot survive.