First, let me state I have gone through every search engine and site on the Megathread before I'm asked. I've also looked through the Unsafe sites and users as well.
I have been hunting for a recent version of a piece of software for a while now and all I can seem to find are ones VirusTotal.com lists with viruses in them or from users on the Unsafe list.
The file I currently have came straight from the site AppDoze.com. Can someone let me know if AppDoze is still a reputable downloader? I've read Yes and I've read No. As you can see VirusTotal.com looks at the cracked .exe and list 6 viruses. Surely there can't be this many "false positives" in a file or can there?
Also, Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Pro both updated have had full scans run on my PC in safe mode and they show no infections which I don't understand with all the installs and uninstalls I've done from a number of sources. I'm considering BitDefender just as another layer of safety.
Anyway, if anyone could give me some insight on AppDoze, I would be most appreciative. Thanks for your input and time!
You're mixing two things:
First, you're right this file I personally would not trust and keep quarantined.
I don't know Malwarebytes but Windows Defender back in the day only would get active on files you or your system interacted with -> would make sense that you only get one alarm. In addition, windows was notoriously bad with multiple virus scanners as they themselves show infection patterns in their behavior,(who else than a virus and a scanner wants to access literally everything you do?). So: i would err on the side of caution.
But then there's the question about the source. And here I can only ask you to be more careful: never trust a source more than your own defense layers. Even the most reputable file sources will have things that will harm you - including the Microsoft Windows updates themselves by the way.
But here it's more critical: don't trust pirate sites. Ever. No matter how good their reputation.
Oh and yadda yadda Linux blah but someone else will give that talk I assume ;)
Stay safe!
Can you tell me anywhere I could possibly get the program without risking the safety of my PC? Oh, and thank you for all the detail. That clears a LOT of things up!
Frankly: No. That's why what you're doing is so important m: secure it locally. EVERY source, especially the pirating ones, can come under attack.
And that doesn't even have to be someone evil directly, just someone spreading stuff. Endpoint security (i.em your computer) is the key.