Please be careful of the legitimate giveaway sites you download from

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soccer97

Level 11
Thread author
Verified
May 22, 2014
517
Just a reminder that some of the direct links you come across may be hosted on a malicious site. I came across one today that was hosted on a malicious site and had been noticed by VirusTotal. Be careful out there.
 
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Exterminator

Community Manager
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Oct 23, 2012
12,527
Just a reminder that some of the direct links you come across may be hosted on a malicious site. I came across one today that was hosted on a malicious site and had been noticed by VirusTotal. Be careful out there.

Could you PM me the site link

Usually I treat every giveaway site as a threat.You should always follow a few simple guidelines

  • The safest giveaways are those that offer a license.Then the software can be downloaded from the official site and the license applied to activate the software
  • There are only a few companies that use a Key File for promos.Avast & Avira are 2 off the top of my head.LastPass uses a special link when giving away Premium versions
  • Whenever possible download software installers from the official software site or a known download site(MajorGeeks,Filehippo,etc)
  • If it is a special installer containing the license, you should always scan and verify it is clean.There are usually only a handful of companies that use special installers
  • Run it initially within a sandbox or VM and if possible extract the license and then download the installer from the official site and enter the license
  • The sites we do not recommend require that you make an account to get the giveaway.Then the licenses & installer come in a zip file.
  • Since these exe installers cannot be verified(they are from another giveaway site) you should only download them from the official site or a reputable download site
  • If a giveaway includes asking you to make an account with personal and banking information it is not worth getting.There are plenty of free alternatives that are just as good.
  • Obviously any containing cracks or files that manipulate the registry or the software should not be used.Those that offer installers from a file sharing link should also be avoided.

MT sponsored giveaways will always contain the link to the official download site or a link obtained from the software company.Sometimes under certain circumstances we will upload the installer and post a share link.These however are legitimate installers/key files and have all been verified as clean.These are our personal links and were uploaded by MT satff
 
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