How do you know if cracked software is safe to use?
August 7th, 2016
You should always check the comments if you are unsure.
You could also scan it with an anti-virus, or upload the files to virus total, which will have numerous anti-viruses scan the file and post the results.
Well I’ve been downloading stuff since the internet began and I can count on one finger the number of downloads with cracks that have given me problems. Once you find one or two reliable sites to download from stick with them through thick and thin and you won’t go wrong. Same applies to torrents, once you find a good uploader/creator stick with them.
The only problem I have these days is that my anti virus throws some keygens and cracks up as faulse positives so I just disable the anti virus to use the crack … no problems with any of those so far.
Well I've been downloading stuff since the internet began and I can count on one finger the number of downloads with cracks that have given me problems. Once you find one or two reliable sites to download from stick with them through thick and thin and you won't go wrong. Same applies to torrents, once you find a good uploader/creator stick with them.
The only problem I have these days is that my anti virus throws some keygens and cracks up as faulse positives so I just disable the anti virus to use the crack ... no problems with any of those so far.
I’m with you there – I’ve been downloading for over decades and have yet to get a virus. I’ve seen and the AVs have caught a few, but no infection.
I tend to err on the side of caution more than you.. I don’t disable the AV.
I’ve seen a few of the “false positives” actually be real viruses – the virus makers are piggy backing on our “Oh, it’s just a falsie” to slip real ones in.
As an example: (Not saying this IS a virus, the VMProtect generally isn’t)
The steam_api.dll, cracked, throws a VMprotect virus signature – a known false positive.
But – how come, then, I have a rar file of about 20 different sized steam_api.dll files that don’t trigger the FP?
(When I download a game with the VMProtect kicker i just use one from my rar file. If none them work then I’d rather keep my back account than play the game, so it all gets deleted)
Not saying SaturnSid is wrong.. but this is how people do end up with crytowares and bank-stealers… trusting the “Oh, it’s a false positive”.
Still, flip-side, it does depend WHO says it – I’d trust SaturnSid, Toothless (Tooth), the old Kissme1 (what did happen to him?) – the mods here are trustworthy..
If I was worried or in doubt, I still would say “bank account or game”, and delete.. delete.. delete
(Tell me, you said that in a cyberman voice, right?)
But how does checking comments other people have left really help? They could have gotten a virus and just not known it yet..
So it doesn’t sound like there’s really any way to know for sure
The answer to worrying about viruses etc is very simple.
Make sure your OS and data are stored on different drives or partitions.
Use something like EaseUS Todo Backup to store a copy of your OS partition on a different drive or partition. If you back it up regularly when you know it’s clean, anytime you get a virus all you have to do is reinstall the whole OS partition using the backup. In my case creating a backup takes about 13/15 minutes and reinstalling the OS from the backup image takes about 15/20 minutes.
I can do what the hell I want with my computer because I know I have a safe secure backup to give me peace of mind.
If someone could develop a virus that is so undetectable yet effective, they wouldn’t be distributing it via cracks. Hell, they’d probably be able to infect your computer just by visiting a site. If you want to be on the safer side, purchase the software instead. You can save money, or you can be 100% safe, but you can’t have them both.
There are lots of ways to protect yourself from getting infected.
I’ll just add few words..
To be sure the application is safe you can download it from the original site.
Advanced anti-virus with sandbox feature for both keygen/crack and the application itself
Virtualization – make a machine and run the application + anti virus + keygen / crack there. (as perma solution or just for checking.)
The answer to worrying about viruses etc is very simple.
Make sure your OS and data are stored on different drives or partitions.
Use something like EaseUS Todo Backup to store a copy of your OS partition on a different drive or partition. If you back it up regularly when you know it's clean, anytime you get a virus all you have to do is reinstall the whole OS partition using the backup. In my case creating a backup takes about 13/15 minutes and reinstalling the OS from the backup image takes about 15/20 minutes.
I can do what the hell I want with my computer because I know I have a safe secure backup to give me peace of mind.
My thoughts exactly – acronis takes about 8 mins to image the drive and about the same to replace an image..
Get any nasties and you just reboot with the boot cd and replace the image.
the safest way is to scan the file with anti virus, once you trusted the uploader where you always get a clean scan, you should keep that uploader in consderation if you want to download something, also, not all detected virus is a virus specially if it is a keygen,patch or crack
the safest way is to scan the file with anti virus, once you trusted the uploader where you always get a clean scan, you should keep that uploader in consderation if you want to download something, also, not all detected virus is a virus specially if it is a keygen,patch or crack
That (bold bit) gets back to the original question.
When the AV detects a virus it might not be one – how do you tell?
You need to recognise the normal false positives – VMProtect is one, things like “generic packed” are flagged just because they use a packer like a virus does, and so on.
It also depends which AV is saying “Virus!” – the free ones and things like ClamAV are known for lots of false positives.
Things like Kaspersky, Eset, are most trustworthy – kaspesky got a 100% rating on a recent magazine test.
You might also try uploading the file to VirusTotal where it gets scanned by a number of anti virus programs..
https://www.virustotal.com/ro/
Always get your software from trusted sources… Doesn’t take long to learn which ones you can trust… Learn what types of virus reports are most likely false positive… Finally it’s a risk you have to be willing to take…
Anything you have on you computer that you would be totally devastated to loose should be backed up and kept in a safe location…
Always test it on a virtual machine (like VMware Workstation) and monitor it with Kaspersky Internet Security before you even install it on your PC.