Liam ignored the red flags. He ignored his browser’s "Deceptive site ahead" warning. He wanted that software. He clicked the download button, which was surrounded by five other fake download buttons. A file arrived: Proteus_8.16_SP1_Setup.zip .
Feeling a sinking sensation in his chest, Liam restarted his computer. But instead of his familiar desktop wallpaper, he was met with a black screen and a single block of red text: Liam ignored the red flags
The search results were a graveyard of sketchy websites with names like SoftZilla-Free and Mega-Crack-Hub . He clicked the one with the most glowing (and obviously fake) comments. “Works 100%!” said a user named ‘Bot449.’ Liam ignored the red flags