don't know about op's claims but one time a crack actually affected my computer - in a really goofy way. it just installed a background wallpaper that was advertising for canned tuna, all in Russian 😂 the brand didn't even exist where i lived. also i could easily reset the background, so it wasn't malicious at all.
Yeah, that was clearly just the group having fun, sounds like it might have been some kind of in-joke. Stuff like keygen music and adding extra fun stuff to your cracks has always been part of the culture. For the most part, while I'm not saying there is zero risk, but as long as it's from verified groups with good reputation, your pirated software will be safe to use - also part of the culture.
Just ignore the erratic behavior of your PC at it starts installing random browsers and changes your wallpaper to advertising. Literal adware. Haven't heard of this since windows vista and xp.
That is malicious, whether ir affected you or not. Maliciousness is entirely within intent.
On one hand I don't trust random cracks not to have miners in them.
On the other I wouldn't run a proprietary video game outside of a sandboxed VM any who.
True but this is why we have trusted groups instead of googling software and running the first exe you find. This application of common sense applies to many facets of life.
Carl and the Aqua Team make their position on piracy very clear.