Your daily reminder to not trust "Free" games from the interwebs

I'm a believer in paying for the software I use, so I usually don't download stuff like this.

I did grab a few FarCry games though. I had already paid for them on Steam, but when I went to launch them they wanted me to create an online Ubisoft account though, and I don't want an online Ubisoft account, so I justified downloading what I had already paid for to play it on my terms, completely offline.

I scanned the crap out of it before installing though, and have regularly scheduled scans from a dual boot (linux, using ClamAV) and have never noticed any suspicious load that could be mining, so I think I am OK.

I also only use Windows for games, so worst case, I can just nuke and reinstall.

Time for another added scan just in case...
 
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Or someone was a straight troll and was hiding something Sasser shit in it.
 
It's been about 20 years since I've visited MegaGames.com ... I used to "crack" all my games because I hated messing with discs. If I get infected from a game now .. it would be GOG's or Steam's .. or Epic's fault
 
Yarr!? *whisling.......

Wished I still had my old HDD with pirated games so I don't have to re-DL and were more trusted than what I'm seeing now, would love to play some classics.

Glad I picked up GTA 5 when it was posted free last year here, really fun game.
 
I got friggin got a few days ago when I tried to 'enrich myself culturally' by binging The Conjuring.

How embarrassing. All it took was a long filename that happened to put the '.exe' extension beyond the visible column area...

Windows Defender went full autism and just kept screaming "hey, look ma, I got it!!" every second. Yeah, Defender, yeah... You got it alright.
That thing is a sweetheart but dumb as a knordoob.
 

Your daily reminder to not trust techspot clickbait title. There nt free, but pirated! Epic is free nd giving back to gaming community! Why is this all bold I dont have nold e abled​


I'm going to have to disagree with you there.

Yes, they are pirated, not free, the headline is misleading.

BUT, EPIC IS NOTHING BUT PURE EVIL, AND DOING EVERYTHING IT CAN TO HARM THE GAME INDUSTRY THROUGH EXCLUSIVES FOR ITS OWN BENEFIT!
 
Thing is, these sources are uncontrolled.

There is nothing to stop a bad actor from repackaging someone else's release, but stuffing it full of malware.
Location, location, location, just have to know where to look.
If you grab them from a reputable location such as RARBG, you'll have no worries. Even repacks from Fitgirl and HOODLUM are safe as long as your source is.
 
I can't be the only one who thought this was going to be related to the free GTA5 that was in the Epic store...or the hundreds of other free games they've made available there.
As far as cracked games go, this isn't a shock at all. In my younger/poorer days I ran into malware all the damn time like this. It's probably way more sophisticated (and profitable for the perps) than anything I ran into.
 
As far as cracked games go, this isn't a shock at all. In my younger/poorer days I ran into malware all the damn time like this. It's probably way more sophisticated (and profitable for the perps) than anything I ran into.
Yeah, I used to love when they said "100% clean, no virus" which is probably code for having a virus.
 
Yeah, I used to love when they said "100% clean, no virus" which is probably code for having a virus.
Everyone, sing it with me now!

lol-limewire.gif
 
BUT, EPIC IS NOTHING BUT PURE EVIL, AND DOING EVERYTHING IT CAN TO HARM THE GAME INDUSTRY THROUGH EXCLUSIVES FOR ITS OWN BENEFIT!
Wrong. Steam did that by normalizing always on online drm. They hoarded things like counter strike and half life 2.

Epic is doing nothing wrong.
 
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You'll have much better luck at some sites, than others. Pirated games from unknown sources having malware isn't really news. Nothing beats free, or depriving bloated software companies from revenue. I'm not advocating for it, but it's clearly win-win.
 
You could just install windows on a NVMe removable drive in about 6 minutes and not give a crap?

It's like wearing a condom.
 
You'll have much better luck at some sites, than others. Pirated games from unknown sources having malware isn't really news. Nothing beats free, or depriving bloated software companies from revenue. I'm not advocating for it, but it's clearly win-win.
Win win for who? The crooks/pirates?
 
Please, nobody uses The Pirate Bay to download games. That's like Limewire at this point.
 
Please. Playing pirated games is a lot like picking up that lonely bar slag at 2am. Most of us have done it (though many won't admit it). It saved us a good 50-60$ in drinks that otherwise would have needed to woo her. If you squint a bit she seems more or less like the the more expensive option; and hell some times you can even have some of the most fun experiences with her. But every time you do it, deep down inside you know you're rolling the dice; she might just install an incurable Ethereum miner on your dick.
 
Indeed you are.
Steam did that by normalizing always on online drm.
FYI steam is not always online, you can play games in offline mode, the games that don't run offline has nothing to do with steam but the publisher of said game.
And online DRM has been around before steam. Securom had online activation on top of the drive breaking anti copy mechanisms.
They hoarded things like counter strike and half life 2.

Epic is doing nothing wrong.
Nobody would be mad at epic if they were "hoarding" UT3, and Unreal 3.
 
The people complaining about the scumware built into the cracked version remind me of the people who were crying about Gator being installed on their systems when they had installed Kazaa all of those decades ago...
 
Wrong. Steam did that by normalizing always on online drm. They hoarded things like counter strike and half life 2.

Epic is doing nothing wrong.

If you think Epic is anything but extremely anti-consumer, you are really drinking the cool aid.

No one said Valve was perfect, but Epic has taken everything shitty Valve has ever done, doubled down on it and turned it up to 11.
 
Not using pirating sites, torrents, etc... that's easy

but how do I combat Epic if it is so evil? I mean, is clicking on the freebies indirectly creating more starving children in africa, or something? or are we saying if you purchase any game, do it through Steam as it's the lesser of two evils? or, is there an even better way to support game devs, like sub to their OF or something?
 
Seems like a puff piece to scare people from pirating.

That's what it is. Nobody who actively pirates is going to read that article and people have sources to ensure no viruses or malware is included. Lets just say there's a girl who's fit and DODI.

I'm not sure I agree,

I have scanned a bunch of these from supposedly trustworthy sources. (Official releases on IPTorrents.)

(As previously mentioned, I buy my games, but sometimes use torrented versions to bypass restrictions and always online account requirements)

I rarely find things identified as outright viruses or malware, but so called "Potentially Unwanted Programs" or "Potentially Unwanted Applications" are fairly commonplace.

Even when I have found outright viruses or malware the piracy community is usually very quick to dismiss it as a false positive with little to no evidence.

I don't trust pirated stuff in the slightest, no matter what group claims to have released it. Scan, scan and triple scan, and even then something may get through.
 
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