"Cracked" Minecraft? PUP Installer

“Cracked” Minecraft? PUP Installer

If you’re on the fence about buying Minecraft, you may want to reconsider downloading a supposedly cracked version of the game which allows you to play without paying. Minecraft 1.8, the name of the file on offer and so-called “Bountiful Update“, can supposedly be yours for the low cost of zero from

minecraftcrackedinstaller(dot)com

They claim the file on offer is “the official installer, with just a few code changes” to enable visitors to play it for free.

Clicking the download link takes them to a second website, before finally offering up an executable file. During testing there seemed to be some rotation, so files downloaded may differ according to a variety of factors including campaigns and / or region.

Download time

Here’s an example of an installer which we detect offering up a variety of programs including “Minecraft”, Plus HD and Omnibox:

Install screen

The “custom install (expert)” gives a degree of customisation in relation to potential installs:

Expert mode

Curiously, Minecraft is no longer mentioned here. Clicking a box to untick one of the programs results in the following message:

You removed [program]. This will affect your computer. Abort?

OK / Cancel

It doesn’t say how the computer will be “affected” (a slightly peculiar way to phrase things), but continuing on with both regular and custom installs didn’t appear to drop anything onto the test PC – including the supposedly cracked version of Minecraft. Suffice to say, anything claiming to be a cracked version of something should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism. Minecraft is a popular target for scammers wanting to make a fast buck, and things can go wrong very quickly indeed if you’re not careful.

Christopher Boyd

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christopher Boyd

Former Director of Research at FaceTime Security Labs. He has a very particular set of skills. Skills that make him a nightmare for threats like you.