Trojans, Cracks and Keygens - What Relationship Exists Between Them?

What is a crack or keygen?

A crack or keygen is a small program designed to circumvent the copy protection for a computer program. A keygen, as the name implies, is used to generate a serial number or registration key for a program, even though the user has not paid for it. A crack, on the other hand, modifies the program's executable code so that it ignores any trial or time limit in the demo version, allowing the user to use the program even though he has not bought a license for it.

What is the danger of cracks and keygens?

Cracks and keygens are very high at risk for being bundled with malware. This means that if you do run a crack or keygen then you are putting yourself at risk from receiving a "bonus" infection of a trojan, spyware or other piece of malware.

We have seen several cracks for our own program TrojanHunter that have been infected with malware. So ironically, in that case the very act of trying to install a cracked trojan scanner results in getting a "trojan virus" or other malware.

What can I do to protect myself?

Here are some basic things you can do to protect yourself and avoid getting infected with malware, spyware or trojans:

• Don't download or run cracks and keygens. Wait until you can afford the software.
• Don't download programs from torrent or other warez sites. These are often infected with malware.
• Install a trojan scanner to protect yourself against trojans, spyware and other malware