this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2023
39 points (89.8% liked)
Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ
54500 readers
711 users here now
⚓ Dedicated to the discussion of digital piracy, including ethical problems and legal advancements.
Rules • Full Version
1. Posts must be related to the discussion of digital piracy
2. Don't request invites, trade, sell, or self-promote
3. Don't request or link to specific pirated titles, including DMs
4. Don't submit low-quality posts, be entitled, or harass others
Loot, Pillage, & Plunder
📜 c/Piracy Wiki (Community Edition):
💰 Please help cover server costs.
 |
 |
|---|---|
| Ko-fi | Liberapay |
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
When the source of a crack/patch isn't trusted, I'd do like you said and install it in a VM, then compare the patched files with their unpatched copies using diffing software (Beyond Compare's hex compare feature is useful for this). If there are a huge amount of changes, like completely different size and content, or it is protected with a packer (typically will be a several MB larger), I would definitely steer clear of it. If it's just a few changed bytes (and maybe the digital signature overlay is stripped off), then it's most likely safe and you can just copy the patched files out of the VM and overwrite your main install.
Edit: Also, always prefer official installers directly from the developer's site if they are available; "pre-cracked" installers are always a red flag to me.
This sounds like excellent advice. I happen to have a licensed version of BeyondCompare that I can install and do Hex compare. I appreciate the guidelines to follow and I agree with you on the "pre-cracked" options. I would always install from the developer's site first and then use the patch if I use it at all. Unfortunately, this software mush have a "phone-home" features and has a "hosts file" change as well. As with the previous response, I would appreciate your input on whether you would try it or not.
Wondershare Uniconverter
Thanks for your excellent advice & input!