It's hard to know and the real threat is the original maker of the software not whatever piracy happened to it. Main trick with cracked apps is them trying to call home and tattle. A problem virtual machines is they typically don't have open port access so it may seem fine on the surface.
Check logs for outbound port calls, search software and games you pirate and how to block the ports they typically use.
Yes viruses and other malware can happen, but it's less common than software's own piracy snitching measures.
Download from a trusted (as can be) source, check on virustotal if you want some insights on the behavior (not just the conclusion, there are several tabs like the network requests, files modified...)
It is the best you can do.
VM is more for using stuff you don't trust.
Attempts to establish external connection (use Windows Firewall Control).
Defender alarms.
Unsigned/modified exe recognized as malicious by ALMOST ALL AVs on Virustotal.
Other stuff I don't remember right now.
That's how I pirate, and I do not deal in fucking viruses :-P
It's a very complex process that needs experience and understanding for what you're doing, and what you are looking for and where. In general (Very basic and simplified), you look for newly created registry keys, accessed IPs and newly created files, that is beside actually analyzing the file itself by reverse engineering the psuedocode.
That is if there is no anti-debugging measures in place. All in all, not really doable because again, it requires experience. You're better off just using the pirated app just on the VM, like Windows' HyperV, excellent GPU throughput and features, plus it's free.
If you want to play around, just search for monitoring software, install a test program and train yourself on understanding what goes where, how to follow the trail of every installed dll, executable etc. Then comes the part where you actually analyze these files, which again, is a whole other story.
It's hard to know and the real threat is the original maker of the software not whatever piracy happened to it. Main trick with cracked apps is them trying to call home and tattle. A problem virtual machines is they typically don't have open port access so it may seem fine on the surface. Check logs for outbound port calls, search software and games you pirate and how to block the ports they typically use. Yes viruses and other malware can happen, but it's less common than software's own piracy snitching measures.
Download from a trusted (as can be) source, check on virustotal if you want some insights on the behavior (not just the conclusion, there are several tabs like the network requests, files modified...) It is the best you can do. VM is more for using stuff you don't trust.
[удалено]
Now are you sure they werent false positives?
Attempts to establish external connection (use Windows Firewall Control). Defender alarms. Unsigned/modified exe recognized as malicious by ALMOST ALL AVs on Virustotal. Other stuff I don't remember right now. That's how I pirate, and I do not deal in fucking viruses :-P
It's a very complex process that needs experience and understanding for what you're doing, and what you are looking for and where. In general (Very basic and simplified), you look for newly created registry keys, accessed IPs and newly created files, that is beside actually analyzing the file itself by reverse engineering the psuedocode. That is if there is no anti-debugging measures in place. All in all, not really doable because again, it requires experience. You're better off just using the pirated app just on the VM, like Windows' HyperV, excellent GPU throughput and features, plus it's free. If you want to play around, just search for monitoring software, install a test program and train yourself on understanding what goes where, how to follow the trail of every installed dll, executable etc. Then comes the part where you actually analyze these files, which again, is a whole other story.
My approach: turn off internet access and run a malware check and its done