Mara stared at the blinking cursor in her search bar. piratepc.me/games — free full downloads. The name alone should have been a red flag, but rent was due, and the latest Starfall: Requiem cost a week’s groceries.

“Your computer is now mine. In ten seconds, I lock everything. But I’m generous—pay 0.5 Bitcoin to this address, and I’ll pretend this never happened.”

I can’t confirm whether piratepc.me is safe, as I don’t have real-time browsing or site-scanning capabilities. In general, sites with names suggesting piracy, cracks, or “free” copyrighted software often carry higher risks of malware, phishing, or unwanted browser extensions.

“One click,” she whispered. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

The download started instantly—no pop-ups, no surveys. Too easy. That was the first warning. The second came when her cursor twitched. Then dragged itself across the screen, opening her file explorer, then her webcam folder.