all 16 comments

[–]SoCo 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Cracked software on Linux? Is there such a thing? I thought Linux software was all free and almost all open source. Anything non-free will simply be a compiled binary.

Applications on Linux come in, very generally, in 3 forms. You get a zipped archive (like .tar.gz, .bz2) of files. These are source files you have to compile into....or already compiled or binary files you can plop anywhere to run. Both source or binary file, "packages" you might call them, may have dependency requirements, requiring you to install from your package manager some needed common libraries, like OpenGL, SDL, SSL, or other things, usually starting with "lib", like libsdl2-2.0.-0, libglfw3, libglu1-mesa....etc.

So, we mentioned source packages, binary packages, and the 3rd type being a repository package. They usually come in zipped packages in a particular format with the .deb, .rpm, .appimage, or another extension. A repository package is just one of the aforementioned source or binary packages, with additional metadata for the package manager. It tells the package manager what dependencies are needed, so it can auto install those. The package manager then keeps track of the installed files, to easily know they are installed, upgrade them, or uninstall them.

More than likely what you have is just a zip of binary files. They likely require less than easily figured out dependencies if it didn't come with a readme. It is almost guaranteed to include a trojan on crypto miner. You can likely unzip it and run to your hearts reckless desire as-is.

You can more-safely run it in a virtualized thin-container, but while they can do it, virtual machines and thin containers (lxc qemu docker wine) don't lend hardware access like a 3D graphical game would need too easily for novice use. Following a good tutorial focused for getting the particular game working with hardware graphical acceleration, while in a virtualized thin-container is the usually starting point.

[–]awdrifter[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thanks for the info. My main PC is still going to be Windows, I'm asking this because I want to try running cracked Linux versions of games on Steam Deck which uses SteamOS rather than Windows. So I'm not too worry about trojans or crypto miner, I'm not new to running cracked software on Windows, just not used to cracked software on Linux.

[–]TarBaby 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yeah, run Windows 11 instead of Linux.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[removed]

    [–]awdrifter[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    Well, cracked software is also typically illegal and not officially supported on Windows, but there are ways to do it. Anyways, I was able to run cracked games on Steam OS, it just needs to be installed on Windows first then I copy the cracked files over then run it under Proton.

    [–]WillieDay 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    I appreciate the information and advice you have shared. I will try to figure it out for more. https://www.mybkexperience.onl/

    [–]James32 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    The bill of lading (for sea shipments) or airway bill (for air shipments) serves as evidence of the contract between the exporter and the carrier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRdEn_RhY3Q

    [–]GraceKelly 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    Join the gold rush frenzy with gold miner, a captivating game that tests your mining skills.

    [–]awdrifter[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    Nah

    [–]bekean23 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

    Using cracked software poses significant risks, including the potential for fnf malware, viruses, and compromised security. It is always recommended to obtain software from legitimate sources and adhere to licensing agreements.

    [–]awdrifter[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    I've been using cracked software on Windows for a long time, I'm not new to this. But I'm just new to Linux cracked software. The way to install cracked games on Steam OS (Linux) is to install the game on a Windows PC then copy it over to Steam OS, then use Lutris to run the exe. This would work for most games that don't use anti-cheat.

    [–]rosydam 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    @retro bowl college That's correct, I once had a virus infiltrate and corrupt my data due to using cracked software that contained a virus.

    [–]Charmaine9 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    Using cracked or pirated software is both illegal and unethical, and it can lead to various legal fnaf and security issues.

    [–]awdrifter[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    Copyright laws are bullshit that long lost its original purpose. Now it's just a tool for big companies to extend their greed. I will keep using cracked software as I've done for many years. If you're on some security critical job, sure get legit software. But I'm just a no name NPC, none of the stuff I do require that level of security. As for the original question, from what I can find out is that you can't do it on Steam OS because it's pretty locked down. You can run cracked Windows version of games by using Proton GE though.