A GTA Online exploit has players fearful of even opening the game

Grand Theft Auto Online has been a danger zone lately — even more than usual. Recently, a new exploit in the PC version of GTA Online has players worried about losing their game progress, in-game currency, and their accounts getting banned altogether. Last week, players were warned about a “remote code execution,” which has now been distributed by the developer of the North Online GTA cheat mod.

This exploit is known to affect anyone in the PC version of Grand Theft Auto Online, but console players are safe. It is better to avoid playing GTA Online at all until further notice in order to protect your account. The scariest part here is that the attacker doesn’t need to be in the same lobby as the players to attack them: they just need your Rockstar ID.

Many fans have become concerned about accounts being in danger just from loading up GTA Online, but some players also haven’t quit playing either — which is not only dangerous for their Rockstar account but also their PC. One user on the GTA Online subreddit brought up a valid point about how the only way to truly fix these kinds of issues is to have servers in GTA Online, calling Rockstar’s most recent update “most likely a band-aid fix.”

Other players asked if it was possible to play invite-only lobbies of GTA Online — while it can still be a risk, one player argued that it might be a “safer” way to play until fixed, saying that “the risk is probably very small for a lot of players, as long as you are not specifically targeted by some bad actor.”

If you want to guarantee your account and PC’s safety, it’s best to just avoid playing the game. For many players, however, the state of GTA Online on PC is typical of Rockstar, as one user states: “As someone who has played since 2013, I’m honestly stunned. Yet not surprised in the slightest.”