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Verdict Malicious

Analyzed , 1 month ago

Is steam_api.dll safe? No, we rate this exact file malicious.

This unsigned Steam-related DLL is confirmed crack tooling, with 38 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flagging it and evidence from the test run mapping activity to…

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Strong evidence · Two or more major antivirus engines agree.

Remove it unless you use it on purpose

Keep it only if you installed it on purpose for security testing. Otherwise delete it and run a full antivirus scan.

What to do now4 steps

This is a hacking tool. It is risky to keep and run, but finding it is not by itself a sign that the device is infected.

What to do

  1. Don't use it unless you got it on purpose for security testing on systems you own. Let your antivirus remove this component, then repair or reinstall the program it belongs to from its official website. Don't delete or replace the file by hand.

  2. If you didn't put it on the device yourself, delete it and run a full antivirus scan: something else may have brought it.

  3. Tools like this often come with cracked or pirated software. If it came that way, treat the whole download as unsafe and scan everything it installed.

If you already used it

  1. Stop using it, run a full scan with your antivirus and watch for unexpected behavior or security alerts.

If you opened or installed it

Avoid banking and sign-ins on that device until it is clean. These free MalwareTips guides walk you through it.

Paste this report's link in your topic so helpers can see what was found.

Why we think so

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steam_api.dll: Malicious — MalwareTips file scan

The link always shows the latest result for this exact file (its SHA-256 fingerprint).

Reads the latest antivirus results for this file's hash. Nothing is uploaded.

Antivirus results

38 of 70 flagged

  • Flagged 38
  • No detection 32
  • No result 5
Filesteam_api.dll154.6 kBSHA-256 e0a8ac90ca0c…a859be
  • Code signing Unsigned
  • Test run Completed
  • First seen 11y ago
38 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag it, including Microsoft and ESET.

Chapter 02

Why we think so

6 points against it and 4 in its favour, checked against the scan evidence.

MT AI Engine · Verdict analysis

The reasoning behind this verdict

Analyst conclusion

The DLL is identified as crack or hacking tool software by multiple engines, including ESET-NOD32, while Microsoft and other vendors apply trojan labels. One completed sandbox run mapped activity to process injection, and the file has no authenticated publisher to offset those findings.

Where this verdict could be wrong3 caveats
  • prevalence shows 599 submitters and 648 submissions since 2015, indicating this is an old, widely encountered sample rather than a file.
  • No sandbox returned a malicious verdict, although the completed run still recorded and this field alone does not establish benign behavior.
  • The absence of community YARA matches and the absence of a known-software database match provide no researcher-curated corroboration, but absence of those hits may reflect coverage limits.

These are the assessment's weak points. If you believe one applies to your file, report the verdict and we'll re-review it.

6 sources checked · 5 complete · 1 not needed or not applicable. See every source

Chapter 03

What it did in our test

It ran in our isolated test environment; no test environment rated what it did as risky.

Test run summary

Capture complete
  • 8sandbox rule tags
  • 1spawned processes
  • 0network contacts
  • 4filesystem & mutex artifacts

What the test run showed

What the file did on a test computer

Confirmed in the test run

  • Moderate concern: Contains packed or scrambled code that is harder to inspect (common in installers too).

  • Moderate concern: Checked whether it was running on a test computer.

  • Note: Read basic details of the test computer, such as its Windows version.

  • Note: Checked which security software was installed on the test computer.

Sandbox labels we could not confirm (common in safe files too)

  • Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as code injection, but no injected program was recorded.

  • Not confirmed: A sandbox rule tagged this run as contacting a server, but no contacted host was recorded.

This file was run on a test computer (a sandbox), not on yours. Labels we could not confirm are listed so you can see them, but they are not treated as evidence against the file.

Threat context

How hacking tools are used

Hacking tools are programs that can switch off security software, test passwords or attack other computers. Security professionals use them on purpose; criminals also bundle them with malware.

Bottom line:Keep it only if you installed it on purpose, and check how it got onto the device if you didn't.

Recorded behavior

What happened in the test

Grouped by step. The order is not a timeline.

Seen in the test runWorked out from other results

  1. Input file

    The submitted object

    1
    1. Evidence 1 of 4: FileSeen in the test run

      steam_api.dll

      e0a8ac90ca0cb856e24230bc1a5193b67cdf661d09984750edfe703d0aa859be

      Uploaded file

  2. Processes

    What ran

    1
    1. Evidence 2 of 4: ProcessSeen in the test run

      rundll32.exe

      "C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe" "C:\Users\<USER>\Desktop\library.dll",#1

      Test run

  3. Files

    Created or changed

    2
    1. Evidence 3 of 4: Written fileSeen in the test run

      SkidRow

      C:\ProgramData\SkidRow\

      Test run
    2. Evidence 4 of 4: Written fileSeen in the test run

      0

      C:\ProgramData\SkidRow\0

      Test run
    3. +1 more recorded observation

4 facts from the test run. See the full activity list.

Chapter 04

Technical details

38 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag it; no publisher signature.

Sources checked

Every check behind this verdict

6 sources checked · 5 complete · 1 not needed or not applicable. Complete means the check returned a usable result; it does not mean the file is safe.

SourceStatusResultChecked
Antivirus enginesVirusTotal · 75 enginesCompleteRisk signal: 38 of 70 engines flagged it · 5 gave no result Details for antivirus engines
Sandbox runVirusTotal sandboxesCompleteRuntime behaviour was recorded Details for sandbox run
Contacted hostsMalwareTips URL scannerNot neededThe sandbox recorded no contacted hosts to checkNo date recorded
Signature rulesYARAify community rules + MalwareTips rulesComplete1 MalwareTips behaviour rule Details for signature rules
Malware sample databaseabuse.ch MalwareBazaarCompleteNot listed
Known-software referenceCIRCL hashlookupCompleteNo match

Engines that flagged it 38

  • ESET-NOD32 (major engine)Win32/HackTool.Crack.EE potentially unsafe application
  • Fortinet (major engine)Riskware/Crack.A!tr
  • Microsoft (major engine)Trojan:Win32/Skeeyah.A!bit
  • Sophos (major engine)Mal/VMProtBad-A
  • Symantec (major engine)ML.Attribute.HighConfidence
  • TrellixENS (major engine)GenericRXNI-WP!9868ED91A953
  • TrendMicro (major engine)TROJ_GEN.R002C0OEO21
  • TrendMicro-HouseCall (major engine)TROJ_GEN.R002C0OEO21
30 more in the full engine list

File fingerprint

Last analyzed
Sep 9, 2026, 12:19 PM UTC
SHA-256
e0a8ac90ca0cb856e24230bc1a5193b67cdf661d09984750edfe703d0aa859be
SHA-1
0261f11bd0004ebc645029d124cae92421d86e4f
MD5
9868ed91a9531ab4592c82a7df33dbbb

About this file

steam_api.dll is a Win32 DLL file of 154.6 kB.

Type and size
Win32 DLL · 154.6 kB
Signer
UnsignedNo code signature.
First seen
Jul 27, 2015On VirusTotal.
Submitted by
599 distinct sources
Packer
None detected
Entropy
7.72 of 8

First scanned

Chapter 05

Questions & answers

Short answers to the 8 questions people ask most about this file.

Is steam_api.dll a virus?
steam_api.dll is a hacking tool. It is flagged because it can be misused, not because it infects a device by itself. Keep it only if you use it on purpose; otherwise, let your antivirus remove this component, then repair or reinstall the program it belongs to from its official website. Don't delete or replace the file by hand. 38 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag it.
What is steam_api.dll?
steam_api.dll is a Windows library (DLL), about 154.6 kB. It carries no version information saying what it is or who made it. VirusTotal first saw it on Jul 27, 2015.
How many antivirus engines detected steam_api.dll?
38 of the 70 antivirus engines that checked it flag steam_api.dll, including Microsoft and ESET. We weigh which engines flagged it and what else the scan found, not just the count. The rating comes from all the evidence together, not from this count alone.
What should I do if I already used steam_api.dll?
1) If you ran it on purpose, for testing on systems you own, remove it when you are done. 2) If you didn't download it yourself, delete it and run a full antivirus scan: something else may have brought it. 3) If it came with cracked or pirated software, treat that whole download as unsafe, scan everything it installed and change passwords you typed on the device since.
How do I remove steam_api.dll?
To remove steam_api.dll: 1) Let your antivirus remove this component, then repair or reinstall the program it belongs to from its official website. Don't delete or replace the file by hand. 2) Run a full scan with your antivirus to check that nothing else came with it. 3) Check Settings > Apps and your startup apps for anything you don't recognise.
What kind of program is steam_api.dll?
Antivirus engines classify steam_api.dll as a hacking tool: a program that can switch off security software, test passwords or attack other computers.
What is the SHA-256 hash of steam_api.dll?
The SHA-256 fingerprint of steam_api.dll is e0a8ac90ca0cb856e24230bc1a5193b67cdf661d09984750edfe703d0aa859be, and its MD5 is 9868ed91a9531ab4592c82a7df33dbbb. Two files with the same SHA-256 are identical, so use it to check you have exactly this file, not just one with the same name.
How up to date is this analysis of steam_api.dll?
This report reflects the scan on Sep 9, 2026. A file's fingerprint never changes, but antivirus engines keep learning, so a rating can change later. To get a newer result, scan the file again: we refresh the antivirus results when the saved ones are out of date.
Chapter 06

Community

Member reviews and reports for this exact file hash.

Related file reports

Other files people checked with the same name, and recent reports with the same rating. A matching name does not make two files the same: only the SHA-256 fingerprint identifies a file.

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This report and its SHA-256 fingerprint are public, so the next person who checks the same file gets an instant answer; documents and images are listed by type instead of their file name. A file we had not seen before is uploaded to VirusTotal, whose security partners and subscribers can download it; MalwareTips deletes its own copy after the scan. If you ran this file and are worried, scan your device with up-to-date security software.