Subsequent to the analysis, it was also possible to find, which is identical to the previously mentioned site with a very particular detail. The link for binaries is provided by the following website: hxxps:///pc/mario-bros-deluxe/Mario%20Bros%208%20Deluxe.zip This represents the first huge red flag: If the Mario series video game is designed for the Nintendo platform, how can it be a ZIP file to be installed on Windows? The site connects to to show the video of the game.Ī big red button with a countdown for the offer invites the user to download a ZIP file containing a binary. All assets (graphics, fonts, CSS) are hosted on the same hostname. Let’s proceed to analyze the possible connections to/from that website through the “Network” section of “Developer Tools”. Organization See (registrant, admin, tech) Name 'Domain Administrator' (registrant, admin, tech) Name: NameSilo, LLCĪbuse contact email: contact phone: tel:+1.4805240066 Unfortunately, this is not very helpful since the data on the WHOIS is private. Initially, we will try to run the WHOIS of. In fact, the fonts and graphics used are those of the official Nintendo website. The Facebook page redirects us to the domain and looks very similar, if not the same, to a site designed by Nintendo. Not bad, right? Since it seemed too good to be true, it was time to put myself in the shoes of a “Malware Analyst” professional™ and delve into the matter ― analyzing both the website and the binaries. The site mentioned by this campaign ( ) was showing a 100% discount, going from a whopping $59.99 to free, and provided a binary to download. It’s so successful that the video game’s reputation continues to drive modest sales for Nintendo, despite the fact that four years have passed since its release date, April 28, 2017.īy now, you must be wondering what this has to do with my blog? Recently, while scrolling through the Facebook wall, a follower of mine came across a sponsorship campaign promoting an incredible offer regarding “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe”.

The simplicity of the game’s mechanics and the modern animations make Mario Kart arguably one of the most successful video games developed by Nintendo. In this game, players challenge themselves to race on different courses with cars of all types and, as you would expect, whoever finishes first wins. One of the most recent video games in the series is “Mario Kart 8 Deluxe”, a souped-up version of Mario Kart for the Nintendo Switch platform. Appearing for the first time in “Donkey Kong”, Mario is the undisputed protagonist of the video game brand of the Nintendo development house ― from sports to cars, most of the famous video games produced by Nintendo have Mario as the main character. If you were a child with a Nintendo DS like myself, growing up you will undoubtedly have played (for countless hours) video games from the Mario series.

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