Is there any way to pirate premium WordPress plugins and minimizing the chance of getting malware? Meaning perhaps there are certain sources that are known to provide malware free content and generally have a good reputation. I know piracy will always involve risks but it doesn't hurt to ask people with first-hand experience. I am even willing to pay but there's no way I will afford plugins that cost hundreds of dollars a year anytime soon.

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[–] zo0@programming.dev 24 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I would ask you to reconsider. Maybe look for an open source alternative or just another solution rather than wp plugins, or wp in general. There are already alternative foss programs to wp if you really need a suite for making the website.

The reason I say this is simply security. Let's say you get your hands on a fully malware free version of that plugin today, so far so good. What happens when the plugin needs a security update? Your version is pirated so it obviously won't be updated automatically. Now until you find an updated pirated version your website has a security hole that you can't do anything about unless you disable the plugin. Depending on plugin, now your website is either broken, slow or whatever you get the point

[–] goldensw@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, I am starting to come to the same conclusion. Keeping the plugin up to date seems like the biggest issue even IF I do manage to find an initial reliable source.

[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

even with all 'legit' sources for everything wordpress-related, maintaining it is a PITA--which is why i send anyone who asks me about wp to their own hosting service. i don't wanna deal with that shit.

[–] hexagonwin@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

aren't wordpress plugins just php code? i believe it would be trivial to look through, if you can obtain them in the first place.

[–] StitchInTime@piefed.social 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

They’re also all GPL due to the nature of Wordpress, even the “paid” ones, so if you can find a copy you’re also in the clear - just be careful of your sources.

[–] goldensw@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

Some of the plugins I've seen use "tokens" for example to enable pro features. They also have free versions but their functionality is often severely limited.

[–] goldensw@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I am not a dev myself, I am collaborating with someone who is though but I doubt he would be willing to do that and guarantee me the code is malware free.

[–] StitchInTime@piefed.social 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I made a reply instead of a top level comment, then remembered https://gpldl.com/repository/

I think it’s legit, but verify the code if you can. Since Wordpress plugins are all GPL technically it’s not piracy 🙃

[–] goldensw@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

That seems quite legit :). Thank you! Will check it out

[–] onesmuvver@piefed.social 3 points 2 weeks ago

Do not do that.

[–] Moonrise2473@feddit.it 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The problem is that you also get malware with legit premium plugins. I bought a $59 plugin on codecanyon and my WordPress install was hacked because it had an unpatched bug that allowed anyone to register as admin.

Did not get any single warning email from codecanyon or the dev, I just got lucky that the hacker was dumb enough to try to claim my site on Google search console and Google warned me immediately, so I could just revert a backup after understanding what was going on. Luckily, again, the hacker left the hints in the admin panel by uninstalling my "premium" plugin, so I understood that was how he could get inside.

If it's a new website, avoid WordPress. It's a security mess and extremely inefficient. I am burdened by this technical debt, migrating now it's very time consuming.

[–] goldensw@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 2 weeks ago

Damn, that's crazy. I suspect this could be mitigated somewhat if you only get popular premium plugins that are open source as well. But that is likely more expensive and limits flexibility.

[–] gramie@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 weeks ago

You might want to look at something like Drupal as an alternative to WordPress. Drupal tends toward a lot more open source for its plugins (which they call modules). As a developer myself, I also find it better engineered than WordPress, although maybe that's just because I used Drupal more.