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Topic: For Crypto Users: Reasons why we should not download pirated softwares - page 2. (Read 620 times)

legendary
Activity: 2912
Merit: 6403
Blackjack.fun
How can this easily be solved?
Scan files with virustotal.com first. It's a legit site and it will always tell you if there is a virus.

Nope, that's one bad advice, virustotal will tell you a lot of times that there is a virus when there is none and fail when there is one.

There is no antivirus that can detect everything and protect you from all the viruses and there will never be as long as you try to use random cracks from shady websites. The best way of avoiding is either paying for the legit software, try to find an opensource alternative or, change the OS, relying completely on your antivirus is like wearing a bulletproof vest in a war, sooner or later you will get shot where you're not protected.

People who uses pirated software can't afford to pay for it which literally means they are not much rich to lose their money but if someone having lot of money but still downloading from random sites then they are the one who is going to suffer.

Hihi, there is one saying, "too poor to buy cheap things", it works for pirated software too.
Some 50$ saved with a cracked version might cost you twice or 10 times more, imagine getting a crypto locker and having months of worked destroyed.

hero member
Activity: 2870
Merit: 594
How can this easily be solved?
Scan files with virustotal.com first. It's a legit site and it will always tell you if there is a virus. However, sometimes it will give you something called a false positive, where virustotal thinks there is a virus but there isn't.
[..snip..]
Virustotal though is not enough and it's not 100%, you can get a lot of false positives. And as per Theymos himself:

virustotal is trash. It can't be used as "proof" of malware, only a very vague hint. It is mighty suspicious when someone posts a binary without source which you're supposed to run as root, though.
legendary
Activity: 1624
Merit: 2481
How can this easily be solved?
Scan files with virustotal.com first. It's a legit site and it will always tell you if there is a virus. However, sometimes it will give you something called a false positive, where virustotal thinks there is a virus but there isn't.

No.
No AV will detect properly written malware.
They can just detect already publicly known malware by checking the signatures.

Another approach would be to use runtime analysis, which also can be circumvented.

Do never trust an AV to determine whether a file is malicious or not. You can never be sure.



Another way to do it is by buying a VPS (virtual private server). You can download things on there without harm because it's not on your computer.

You can't run resource heavy software on a cheap VPS.
Additionally, if the VPS is compromised your PC can easily get compromised to by logging into it using ssh.

So that's not an option either.
legendary
Activity: 2338
Merit: 10802
There are lies, damned lies and statistics. MTwain
This article points to some interesting facts concerning pirated software:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/pirated-software-is-all-fun-and-games-until-your-data-s-stolen/

To point out some if the statements made within:
Quote
In the past, though, most of the unwanted programs that were installed were adware or browser extensions, and though definitely a nuisance, for the most part, they were not stealing your files or installing ransomware on your computer.

This has changed as software installer monetization companies have started to increasingly team up with ransomware and password-stealing Trojan developers to distribute their malware.
<…>
Security researcher Benkøw has recently noticed that monetized installers pretending to be software cracks and key generators are now commonly installing password-stealing Trojans or remote access Trojans (RATs) when they are executed.

In his tests over the past week by downloading various programs promoted as game cheats, software key generators, and licensed software, when installing them he was infected with password-stealing Trojans and backdoors such as Dreambot, Glupteba, and Racoon Stealer.

The article goes on with further details, but it’s pretty clear that pirated software can leave you exposed to almost anything, and your crypto is certainly not going to safe.
hero member
Activity: 2366
Merit: 793
Bitcoin = Financial freedom
People who uses pirated software can't afford to pay for it which literally means they are not much rich to lose their money but if someone having lot of money but still downloading from random sites then they are the one who is going to suffer.

Atleast people should avoid using their crypto wallet installed device for such kind of activities so they won't lose their few hundred or thousand dollars.
legendary
Activity: 2534
Merit: 6080
Self-proclaimed Genius
Scan files with virustotal.com first. It's a legit site and it will always tell you if there is a virus. -snip-
The problem with Virustotal is you need to download the file first and upload it to the site before it can scan the actual file; in which case, you can be infected by downloading the file.
Scanning the URL of the direct download link will only trigger a scan to that URL's source/connections, not the file to be downloaded.

Example: If you scan https://download.electrum.org/3.3.8/electrum-3.3.8.exe you'll 1 "Malicious" result by SophosAV.
But if download the actual file and upload it, you'll get six totally different results - for Electrum, bunch of false positives.
hero member
Activity: 2926
Merit: 567
Unfortunately many people prefer a crack software than a legit one, some of them are given free, people are not educated that these software can harm them than benefit them, if you cannot stop yourself from using these crack software use this on a computer where you don't have important files on it especially wallets where you keep your coins.
member
Activity: 175
Merit: 14
How can this easily be solved?
Scan files with virustotal.com first. It's a legit site and it will always tell you if there is a virus. However, sometimes it will give you something called a false positive, where virustotal thinks there is a virus but there isn't.
Another way to do it is by buying a VPS (virtual private server). You can download things on there without harm because it's not on your computer.
Don't know what a VPS is or does? Here are some explanations:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_private_server
- https://www.dreamhost.com/blog/beginners-guide-vps/
- https://www.namecheap.com/hosting/what-is-vps-hosting-definition/

Never download unknown softwares Wink (unless it's from verified companies of course)
hero member
Activity: 1344
Merit: 540
Specially for crypto users, reasons not to used or download pirated or bootleg softwares


- almost all pirated software copies are bundled with trojans/malwares/ransomware, your machine could get infected and cyber criminals stealing your crypto.

- the bundled software could also include crypto mining. You can read a recent exploit CoinMiner exploits Apple APSDaemon vulnerability to evade detection. And it can damage your PC/desktop.

And remember this? Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2018. Story of the year: miners?

- You think you get away because it's free, you're wrong, in the long run it won't work as crack softwares disables the auto update. And software companies now are implementing solutions to stop piracy itself.

- Others could also get infected, just like the current pandemic, you can transmit it, the trojans/malwares/ransomware can get into your email list then it can send it out to those people.

- Anti-piracy law, almost all countries have this law now, so if you are caught, hmmm, legal woes for you.

Rule of thumb:

- Always buy legit softwares (OS and Anti-virus)

- Stay away from torrent sites
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