If you’re one of those folks who indulge in flight simulation programs now and then, you’ve probably heard of FlightSimLabs (FSL). The studio makes add-ons for third-party flight sims. Well, they’ve just been caught installing malware on customers’ PCs. Amidst pressure from all quarters to come clean, the company has issued an apology of sorts and updated the installer in question.
They’ve clarified that the DRM check file embedded in their A320-X module was only intended to hit those who used pirated versions of it. The add-on included a program which was being installed stealthily on users’ computers. It was designed to potentially steal passwords from Chrome’s cache. If that’s not malware, what is? While acknowledging the issue, the studio has also gone to a great extent to defend itself.
But the admission of guilt is hardly enough and it feels like FSL could have a legal wrangle in its hands if legitimate customers consider pursuing the matter in court. CEO Lefteris Kalamaras, has taken great pains to point out that the Reddit thread which started the conversation, was posted by someone who downloaded the installer without purchasing it; as if it justifies FSL’s ham-fisted approach to anti-piracy.
The password-stealing tool was built to harvest a user’s private information if it detected certain combinations of usernames, email addresses and serial numbers previously identified to be associated with piracy. This stolen data would then be sent to FSL to fight their ‘ongoing legal battles against such criminals’. Mistyped or unknown serial numbers would apparently not trigger the DRM tool.
There’s no explanation as to why FSL went to great lengths to plant such a shady (and possibly illegal) code in their A320-X module, instead of just banning the serial numbers that were known to be spurious. While the company is assuring users that the DRM checker gets automatically booted out of the system once the sim’s setup and registration process is over, many are understandably alarmed.
FSL’s forum is currently being updated with demands for refunds by disenchanted customers. Imagine paying upwards of $99 for a program that deliberately installs malware on your PC!