Pirating software is a pretty bad idea. There are plenty of bad agents online looking for ways to take advantage of people who are looking to get paid apps for free, and cracking tools are no different. Malware is infecting people who are looking for a way to avoid buying products, stealing their personal information and turning their computers into cryptomining zombies.
The SteelFox Trojan Has Begun Making the Rounds on Piracy Websites
As reported by Kaspersky on SecureList, the SteelFox Trojan is a new strain of malware that began making the rounds in August. The security company noticed that SteelFox mostly lurks on websites, forums, and torrent services that support software piracy:
Our investigation has led us to the fact that SteelFox’s initial attack vector consists of several various publications on forums and torrent trackers. These posts refer to the SteelFox dropper as an efficient way to activate a legitimate software product for free. We’ve seen the dropper pretend to be a crack for Foxit PDF Editor, JetBrains and AutoCAD.
Kaspersky notes that the cracking tool does do what it promises, which leads pirates to trust the source and share the malicious app among their friends. However, the cracking tool also installs SteelFox, which sets up a cryptojacking service on the target computer. Then, it scans the device for installed browsers and attempts to steal personal information stored on them.
This is yet another example of the risks that come with using cracked software. If you want to keep your personal information safe and your PC free of cryptojackers, do not pirate software. Remember: if you’re getting something for free, there’s a good chance that you’re the product, especially if you’re doing something shady.
