For Crypto Users: Reasons why we should not download pirated softwares

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

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

[asianguy845]

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 (unless it's from verified companies of course)

[aioc]

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.

[nc50lc]

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.

[Findingnemo]

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.

[DdmrDdmr]

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:

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.

[bob123]

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.

[Yaunfitda]

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.

[stompix]

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.

[Wexnident]

Isn't this why most people separate the PC's used for work/job stuff and personal usage? I mean, even if you don't want to, as long as you're dealing with money, then you basically have no choice. Especially if you are one of the others that use pirated software for literally everything.

Buying a PC is mostly chosen as a second option though, it's a lot better to just buy legit software. They get updated permanently when you buy them anyway, and even if the software gets updated to a better separate version, you can still use the old one AFAIK.

[lovesmayfamilis]

If users are tempted to download something from pirated sites, simply out of curiosity or, as described above, due to lack of money, this can seriously harm them.
To satisfy your curiosity, you can recommend using virtual machines. Download all programs there. Although this does not guarantee security.
And if we talk about cryptocurrencies, then for such purposes it is good to have a separate computer that either does not have access to the Internet, or has access to a minimum of needs.

[OcTradism]

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 (unless it's from verified companies of course)

In some countries, people use cracked softwares that contains risks for their computers.

My message are:
- Don't use cracked softwares.
- Don't click on any links you receive on any channels: emails, Telegram, Discord, facebook, twitter, etc.
- Don't visit dark or strange sites.

[hatshepsut93]

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

- Stay away from torrent sites

A better advice is to use free and open source alternatives to paid software. If you're not a professional and only use the software occasionally, a free alternative will cover all your needs. Security-wise it's even better than paid software, because even those are known to sometimes sneak spyware on user's machine.

Torrent sites aren't inherently malicious, they are just file sharing platforms. Not every torrent has malware.

Isn't this why most people separate the PC's used for work/job stuff and personal usage? I mean, even if you don't want to, as long as you're dealing with money, then you basically have no choice. Especially if you are one of the others that use pirated software for literally everything.

It can work, but it's still risky, if you share files between computers in some way, you can infect your work computer, or your router can be hacked. It's better to make an isolated vm on your piracy-dedicated machine and never let it interact with other devices. And if you decide to pirate, do it smart - don't click on the first link, but do research about cracking groups with good reputation, and make sure you download their release.

[Lucius]

Specially for crypto users, reasons not to used or download pirated or bootleg softwares

You need to understand that people mostly download pirated software because they can’t afford to buy the original version. This is especially pronounced in some parts of the world, and companies that sell software should adjust the price to the markets, because for some $50 is just pocket money, while someone else has to work for that amount for a whole month.

But I completely agree that anyone who uses crypto should avoid pirated software, because nothing is free and the risk is simply too great. Although I used to use a lot of pirated software before, today I can say that I am 100% legalized for that - but only because I buy licenses from resellers who sell them at extremely affordable prices.

- Stay away from torrent sites

For some, this is still the main choice when it comes to movies or series, and if the content is downloaded from already verified users, then there should be no problems. I have never had a problem with such an approach, although I have even left torrents because I have another access to media content that eliminates any risk of downloading content.

[hatshepsut93]

While i strongly agree with advice to use FOSS alternatives, it's not always an option for worker and student due to  :
1. Forced to use paid/closed-source software that only available on Windows OS.
2. Compatibility problem between paid/closed-source software and FOSS. For example, formatting problem between Microsoft Word and Libre Office.

This is true, especially applying it to this:

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.

because there are people from very poor countries who save $100-200 to buy a new PC, so paying even $10-50 is out of the question for them. For them the best advice would be to research how to minimize the risks of pirated software by utilizing virtualization and checking reputation of crackers/repackers.

[bob123]

- Stay away from torrent sites

Torrents are fine. A lot of software is distributed this way.
You just have to make sure to verify the signature.

You need to understand that people mostly download pirated software because they can’t afford to buy the original version. This is especially pronounced in some parts of the world, and companies that sell software should adjust the price to the markets, because for some $50 is just pocket money, while someone else has to work for that amount for a whole month.

There are free alternative available for almost any software.
You don't need to pay if you don't want to. There are only very few software where you actually can't find a free alternative which is as good as the paid version.
But this mostly is some statistics and business software. And if you are actually working with that, you should have the money to buy it. For anything else (especially not work related), free software is just as good as the paid one.

[Macadonian]

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

This does pack a punch with what you are trying to tell people but it is inaccurate and I'm not sure where you are getting your data from to back this up but I highly doubt that *most* pirated software contains malware or trojans. Most pirated software is used to distribute overpriced software by activists which don't believe in charging for software and believe in the freedom of everything. There is other reasons for downloading pirated software too which are legal. If you own Windows 7 and you have lost the installation media it is perfectly legal for you to pirate the software as you already own it.

I get what you mean though but pushing out this motive is misinformation the most important thing is you should not be downloading pirated software if its against the law and some pirated software has the potential to be compromised via viruses.

[taufik123]

In poor countries or developing countries and even developed countries, pirated software is still popular and has many users. The use of pirated software has become common throughout the world, even many groups are focused on piracy software every day and continue to make updates. Minimizing the risk of using pirated software might be the solution. Knowing the cracker / repacker used and see how many user recommendations.

Buying original software with an official license is the best and safer advice. But using pirated software is only as an alternative for those who do not want to spend money or just for learning.

[mu_enrico]

I was such an ignorant way before joining this forum. Nowadays, I don't use pirated software from torrent anymore.
But how about movies? I still use torrent sites to download free videos. Any harm to doing that?

[Lucius]

But how about movies? I still use torrent sites to download free videos. Any harm to doing that?

I have already answered your question, the topic does not have many posts and it would certainly be desirable to read it first and then ask a question

In essence, any download of copyrighted content without paying for it is a not in accordance with the law, and that applies to all paid software, movie, and music. As for the danger that such downloads pose to your PC and the crypto on it, there is always a risk if you blindly believe that you really downloaded the movie and run it without checking what it really is. The malware can be disguised as a legitimate movie, but instead of the normal movie formats (avi/mkv/mp4) it has a completely different extension. As you can see, sometimes you can get clipboard malware instead of a movie.

Torrent Movies Virus also contains another high-risk feature: it detects when the user is visiting cryptowallet websites used to transfer cryptocurrency. It steals cryptocurrency by changing the recipient wallet's address to one belonging to cyber criminals. Cryptocurrency wallet addresses are long strings of random characters and digits, and thus users are unlikely to notice any changes (all this is performed immediately the user attempts to paste a copied cryptowallet address). In summary, users end up transferring cryptocurrency to cyber criminals, rather than their intended recipient