For those that use cracked VSTs, how do you deal with all the malware?

Discussion in 'Software' started by dorian7lc, Oct 30, 2020.

  1. dorian7lc

    dorian7lc Noisemaker

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    I'm really grateful to be able to use plugins I would never be able to afford otherwise, hell I couldn't afford even a low end plug in at the moment. That being said, my PC is turning into an expensive paperweight and essentially becoming crippled by a slew of malware (I think). It may sound messed up but as long as my PC still functioned, I'm OK with someone using my PC for btc mining. Price I guess I can pay for being able to use plug ins that are way above my pay grade...but after all the .exe and keygens Ive ran over the past few months I'm afraid I'll have to wipe my PC and lose all the plug ins I accumulated, solely based on the fact I don't know which ones are causing the problems and which ones arent. I've been getting near 200 Hard faults/sec on the performance monitor :/.
     
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  3. DoubleTake

    DoubleTake Audiosexual

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    The only way is to only use software from trusted sources.
    I have never had ANY malware from sister site.
    I HAVE had malware, or sometimes it is more appropriate to call it derpware...but never from sister..

    You might want to spend some time browsing the topic, but if you do have malware, I'd suggest it came from porn sites. Well, maybe not, if it is mining for bitcoin...
     
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  4. demberto

    demberto Rock Star

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    Upgrade all your plugins to newer version and uninstall older ones with Revo. Have a look at all the software installed. Use some AV like Kaspersky, you can get a 3-year key on Amazon for very cheap and its the best AV.
     
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  5. Jim Von Gucci

    Jim Von Gucci Producer

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    I just scan everything. A while ago I scan a vst and it said it had a virus so I download from another site to see if it was a false positive or what ever people always say. But the other same vst from the other site didn't have a virus. So now I scan. But no problems here.
     
  6. Vader

    Vader Platinum Record

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    I see that your main problem is you keep installing new software on a obsolete machine.
    That's why is slowing down. Also, did you check the space available on your hard drive? 15% free is what should be, but I advice at least 25%.
    And again... Installing the latest software in a obsolete system it will cripple it.
     
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  7. dorian7lc

    dorian7lc Noisemaker

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    Well, my NVME is 50% full. SSD is like 1/3 full and HDD is like 70% full. I have premium malwarebytes that I can use to scan but it almost always will get tripped up by things like keygens...I didnt find out about the sister site until I had downloaded from less than ideal sites so it might be a good idea to uninstall those versions and reinstall them from sister site. I also have a newer 9700k i7 Cpu but unfortunately my mobo isnt compatible with it lol (was BDay gift from GF cuz she always hears me bitching about my CPU freezing up while im in FL.

    Also, have any of you tried the latest Ableton crack? I wanna use ableton for a number of reasons but i heard that it isnt as hard on the cpu as FL....
     
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  8. dorian7lc

    dorian7lc Noisemaker

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    Also, Ive read about using virtual machines to run a program first. But I dont have the first idea of what I should be looking for even if I did use on haha.
     
  9. pizzafresser

    pizzafresser Producer

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    You realize that all those keygen detections are false positives, right?
     
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  10. keygen.exe

    keygen.exe Producer

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    Never had malware from cracking plugins, DAWs, and other programs always downloading from trusted sources like the sister site and if I'm not trusting the website I use a virtual machine to test "The sketchy" stuff, and btw Malwarebytes always running in the background with a whitelisted folder which has all my Keygens so that after downloading a Crack I put it there and run it without Malwarebytes interfering.
     
  11. SineWave

    SineWave Audiosexual

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    It depends on where the keygen came from. :wink:

    Many "audio free download" websites are used for spreading malware and they use keygens for that by repacking it with malware, so you get a working keygen, but the first thing it does is install their malware on your computer.

    You should just be careful where you download your stuff from. I recommend AZ. Never had that kind of problems with programs and plugins downloaded from there.

    Cheers!
     
  12. babuk

    babuk Producer

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    Cripple your PC with vst plugins? Are these guys for real?? deleting all PC and loose all the plugins acumulated... reading this giving me shivers. Go learn how to use the fork first.
     
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  13. Eramis

    Eramis Member

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    I give all the credit to work teams like R2R, Decivele and others ... they have been like loving parents by giving us the opportunity to use these free vst that work perfectly and use our profits to improve our home studio. ... I am very grateful to them. and if some problem appear with some vst I would have my laugh from side to side. Well, it would be nothing compared to the immense investment that we would have to be making in all these vst, daw, and others ...
     
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  14. statik

    statik Audiosexual

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    i had these troubles a long time ago, found a perfect way to deal with them. i bought a mac.
     
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  15. lovebeats

    lovebeats Ultrasonic

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    i use adblock plus and ublock urigin when i surf with firefox and avast free antivirus, sometimes it detects malware mostly in keygens but u can put add to exception or save the keygen in winrar so it dont can detected and deleted or turn off the avast antivirus firewall,
    sometimes when i open the DAW i disconect internet connection and turn off the antivirus firewall, less problems
     
  16. Xupito

    Xupito Audiosexual

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    I use an antivirus, disabled by default, to scan from time to time. Or from disaster to disaster lol.

    What I do with cr*cks is to zip them with password, rendering them harmless and non-scannable (I keep the original). This way I can decide what to do if they're deleted by an antivirus scan.

    Edited: what's so funny? what did I do this time? :dunno:
    You bastards:rofl:
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2020
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  17. phumb-reh

    phumb-reh Guest

    These days, once every blue moon that I want to try out something borrowed, I run gens and k'stuff in either Sandboxie or Windows Sandbox.

    Last time I had malware was pre-torrent era I think though, so I might just be overdoing it.
     
  18. pizzafresser

    pizzafresser Producer

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    Obviously. But if someone is already dealing with cracked software I expect a certain degree prior knowledge of carefulness, especially in regards to where you get your software from. You don't just download from random sites. If you have ANY idea what you're doing you can spot a fishy website just by looking at the URL. And if that's the way your system got infected, you probably deserved it. There are certain things you learn after a while, such as not downloading .exe files, don't download from sites you've never heard of, don't download scene releases that have been repackaged (unless they come from a trusted source).
     
  19. Gyro Gearloose

    Gyro Gearloose Audiosexual

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    most warez sites are good...only some torrent places had one or another but also there mostly clean stuff in common
     
  20. Gyro Gearloose

    Gyro Gearloose Audiosexual

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    use avira or no use avg
    [​IMG]
     
  21. DoubleTake

    DoubleTake Audiosexual

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    The problem with what you say there is that you have to KNOW when it is safe to "turn off" or allow "exceptions".
    What you are talking about are ways to DISABLE protection.
    His problems is that he thinks he got infected.

    Yes, it's a fine practice to create exception rules.
    I excluded all drives except my OS drive (Anything from the internet is going through my OS drive first).
    I excluded many folders on my OS drive over time. Some I excluded for performance reasons.
    ( OpenOffice spreadsheet program "Calc" would actually crash due to being monitored by Windows "Defender" AV)
    The main thing is to know which folders or locations it is safe to exclude.
    The only way I personally could know for sure is by trusting the source.
    There is a "friendly site" listed in the left sidebar of Az where I have gotten many things too.
    They often have many general multimedia things found on AZ, too.

    If I get a warning on something from the general internet, and i do not KNOW why, or trust the website, I just won't download it.
    Yes, browsers will often flag things that are ok, and that only makes it more confusing in one way, but at least you know they are helping protect, and it is a warning and reminder to check the source.
     
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