Are all the downloads from sister site free from malware?
I've always trusted in every download I did because I always worked in my personal PC wich didn't have important data.
But now the scene is diferent, because I'm doing a new build and I'm gonna use the PC with my brother.
I don't care about me, just I don't want to keep my brother files unsafe.
What is your opinion?

 

You should treat installing software from there just like anything else you get in an email from someone you know. It probably does not contain malware deliberately, but that is not to say it cannot or never will. The only difference is other people have probably already checked anything you download, before you get the files.

 

I don't have a sister, but if I did I'd be all up in her dms.

and no, you'd be putting your brother at risk by participation. that's the truth.

 

I use to scan VSTs under 500MB on virustotal webpage and most of times finds something due to the crack (of course)
I use to check the replies under the plugin page on sister site and sometimes people say it's false positive, but, at I'm not sure after all.
For example, I remember finding things like "Wacatac.M!". or G... I don't remember exactly the letter now.
Then I search on the web and forums say that they are dangerous things you know...
Most of plugins are R2.R work.
To be precise, I don't want keyloggers or cryptominers running on my machine.

 

Virus Scanners are almost irrelevant in 2023. You need a secure browser and OS, a firewall, and a good spyware/malware scanner with heuristics. You should get a sandbox program like Sandboxie; whatever is a current best option. If I "Trust" something, it means I will waste the time to download and scan it, or I wouldn't even bother to do that. Obviously, legitimate company website like NI or Arturia, or something like that you can skip a scan safely; in general.

Not that many people have deliberately spread an infected file. But then you run something they send you, and next thing you know you are spamming Viagra. or whatever.

 

If you feel unsecure, wait a bit for others to download, people will write if there´s something hazy about it.
Also never hesitate to ask others, if your choice of virus scanner shows something. Sharing is for caring

 

All released cannot be checked, so you should use an AV, but also look at some relevant parameters:
Is the Team or cracker renowned?
Is the poster renowned?
If one of the answer to these questions is no (or the release is not signed), use with caution.
If both answers are yes, don't care to what your AV says.
Also, disable the heuristic detection of your AV, so it will only spot what are truly known as viruses.
If you don't know what is heuristic detection, do a search.

 

Not that I disagree with the approach and the precautions, but "virus scanners" are "malware scanners" these days, same thing really. It's all semantics really but pretty much all of them do "full spectrum" scan and removal (if possible). There are further distinctions here, but let's not go there.

 

Yeah I know. They were not, but have evolved as such. A virus is always a form of malware, but not always spyware... I just wrote it that way to emphasize the kind of modern threats you'd want to see focused on by whatever product he picks to install. Heuristic detection is much more important now; to catch new stealthy things created to make their author money, which are probably over 90%+ of all malware currently in the wild. I'd rather be presented with an option about a false positive, than miss something. personal preference.

Like you say, the difference between products can be the amount of dependence on system-wide scanning, or in other cases simply the marketing of them.

 

Last edited: Jun 22, 2023

If you want software that is 100% guaranteed to be malware free, you should probably buy your software from the developer.

It still might have malware on it, but it'll be a different type of malware to the stuff you get on piracy sites.

Seriously though, I don't run antivirus software. I've never downloaded infected software from the sister site.

But I do keep stringent off-line back-ups. If I get got, I can get back fast.

 

I agree, but I can't even conceive an antivirus that doesn't have heuristic scanning in this day and age. Like the fellow user's quote below.

 

People sometimes turn it off entirely. And some products' analysis may be better than others. I cannot think of a major product that does not use proprietary algorithms that are not even close to open-source. Some will even report stuff they detect differently. You can see this in practice when you do a VirusTotal scan, with many returning pretty varied results from others.

 

Yes, I do the same thing. When I'm going to do big changes, I create a restoration point.

 

I really apreciate everyone's point of view. Thanks you all for the replies.
I've always downloaded from sistersite and installed releases from R2 and VR.
Never had a problem.
The only thing I did not install was Modo Bass 2 wich shown "Wacatac!"

 

No, I have been downloading from the sister site and the Russian site that we all know about for ten years. They are totally trustworthy. The "virus" (false positive) is "bad" for the developers, not for you, so it warns you (sometimes) that it is a virus.

 

Don't trust it, there are viruses that won't let you start the machine, it's happened to me several times, but not because of the sister site, but because of downloading stupid things like "hack for games" (I'm a cheat hahaha). The point is that sometimes it doesn't even let you start the PC, but we're not talking about the sister site, we're talking about you thinking that a restore point could save your life and it's not like that. The best thing would be to have a backup on a separate hard drive (which was what I did last time)

 

Gotha. Thanks for the tip.