DarkDeckBETA
Devices and downloads
Your devices hold your music, your accounts and your memories. A few habits keep them healthy.
- Install updates. They fix the holes attackers use.
- Download only from the official source. Avoid cracked software and plugins.
- Lock every device and turn on two-step sign-in for the account behind it.
1. Keep things updated
Turn on automatic updates for your phone, computer, browser, and music software. Most attacks use holes that an update already closed.
2. Download from the source
- Get apps, plugins and drivers from the maker's own site or the official app store.
- Be careful with search ads. A top result that looks like the real download page can be a fake. Type the address or use a bookmark.
- Be wary of installers sent in messages or shared in forums.
3. Cracked software and plugins
Cracked music software, plugins and sample packs are a common way to infect a producer's computer. They often hide programs that steal passwords, sessions and wallets. Free and legal options exist for nearly every job, and a clean machine is worth more than a saved fee.
4. Be careful what you open
- Do not open files you were not expecting, especially programs, scripts, compressed archives, and documents that ask to "enable content".
- Turn on showing file extensions, so a program called song.mp3.exe cannot pass as music.
- Use your system's built-in security tools, and keep them on.
5. Public Wi-Fi
Websites that use https are encrypted, even on public Wi-Fi, but a fake hotspot can still trick you into a fake sign-in page. Avoid signing in to important accounts on public Wi-Fi when you can, and use your phone's data for those.
6. Phones, tablets and headsets
- Use a screen lock with a PIN or biometric, and turn on find-my-device.
- Headsets such as a Quest are connected to an account. Protect that account with a strong password and two-step sign-in, and set a lock PIN if you share the headset.
- Install apps only from the official store, and check what permissions they ask for.
7. When you hand a device on
Sign out of accounts, back up what you need, and then use the device's factory reset before selling, gifting or recycling it.
General guidance, kept up to date as best we can. It is not legal or professional advice.