New research has found that content creators are putting themselves at risk when searching for and downloading creative software.
A report from surf sharks in partnership with the University of Maryland, studied Google search results to determine which software is – in its words – “most dangerous when searching online”.
Follow report (opens in a new tab)Avid’s audio editor engines considered the most dangerous – 64.4% of search engine results contained potentially harmful malware. Next is Adobe Substance 3D Painter, the UI Sketch design tool, and Substance 3D Stager.
The most dangerous game
To identify the riskiest creative software that users can download, VPN The provider searched for the most rated tools on Google, adding “download” and “torrent” as qualifiers to create the list.
The company then ran all URLs from the first five pages through a malware detector. The percentage reflects any web address marked as medium or higher risk.
Of the top ten creative software packages flagged as “most dangerous”, the Adobe suite dominated – perhaps unsurprisingly, the business has become a target for content creators. within its scope. video editing software, graphic design tools, DTP softwareand photo editor.
Besides Adobe products, popular digital art tools Name a graphics software and Maxon Cinema 4D also appear on the list.
Surfshark also runs searches on other categories, including small business software, social media marketing toolscryptocurrency wallet and Browser.
“Expensive software and user licenses have created huge demand for torrent software, making it the perfect opportunity for hackers to attack and insert malware into seemingly normal links. On average, about 1 in 3 software search results contains potentially malicious software,” the company said.
But how can users be protected? The answer is simple: by downloading and paying for them, through the official website.
| Software | % of URLs flagged with potential malware |
| software enthusiast | 64.04 |
| Quality 3D painter | 57.32 |
| sketching software | 56.38 |
| Quality 3D Stager | 56.25 |
| Maxon Cinema 4D | 55.10 |
| V-Ray | 53.76 |
| InDesign | 49.49 |
| Name a graphics software | 49.47 |
| show software | 49.44 |
| XD software | 49.44 |
