Computing Internet Online Security Popular Steam wallpaper app hijacked to spread dangerous malware — how to stay safe News By Anthony Spadafora published 16 June 2026 Cybercriminals are using Wallpaper Engine to target Steam accounts When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works . (Image credit: Shutterstock) Copy link Facebook X Reddit Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Hackers are once again targeting gamers on Steam, but this time, instead of using malware-filled games to do so, they’ve switched to hiding malicious code in desktop wallpapers. As reported by BleepingComputer , these infected wallpapers can prove quite dangerous for unsuspecting gamers as they can provide an easy way to install a backdoor on one of the best gaming PCs or even to hijack their Steam accounts. Any image you download online could contain malware. However, the hackers behind this campaign are leveraging an incredibly popular Steam app to do so instead. With 20 to 50 million installs according to SteamSpy , Wallpaper Engine is one of the most downloaded apps on the platform. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: What makes Wallpaper Engine so popular, though, is that users can download hundreds of thousands of desktop wallpapers made by other users through Valve’s community hub, Steam Workshop. By abusing this feature, the hackers are easily able to disseminate their infected wallpapers. Here’s everything you need to know about the latest malware threat on Steam and how you can keep your account — and your gaming PC — safe from hackers. You may like 100 million Mac users at risk: Hackers are hijacking ‘verified’ apps to sneak past your Mac’s security 2.8 million hit in frightening scareware attack that holds your browser hostage — how to stay safe Update your Nvidia GPU drivers now to protect your PC from 9 “high-severity” vulnerabilities — here’s what’s at risk Malicious application wallpapers (Image credit: Tom’s Guide) For those unfamiliar, in addition to static wallpapers, Wallpaper Engine also supports four dynamic wallpaper types that can render videos, interactive scenes, webpages with audio and video, and applications. That last one is incredibly important in this campaign. Unlike a JPEG or PNG file, Wallpaper Engine’s application wallpapers are full-on Windows executables that run like any other program on your PC. According to researchers at the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, not only do they pose a built-in security risk, but they’re also currently being used by hackers to deliver malware to unsuspecting Steam users. Tom’s Guide: Direct to Your Inbox Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. In a blog post , Kaspersky’s researchers explained how they discovered dozens of malicious application wallpapers on Steam Workshop, many of which had been downloaded thousands or even tens of thousands of times. By analyzing the application wallpapers in question, the researchers found that the malware is either bundled directly into their installation packages or hidden inside password-protected archives that users are then tricked into opening. Unfortunately, the damage is done immediately after one of these compromised wallpapers is installed. After a user installs one such asset posing as a game called NTRaholic, the wallpaper launches as expected. However, in the process, a backdoor file belonging to the DarkKomet malware is also installed in the background. In order to search for and steal Steam credentials, a custom version of a system library called ‘AggregatorHost.dll’ is installed as well. In addition to
Sumber: Tom’s Guide