Stuff to grab before torrents go down

[Zodai]

Well, just don't use the autorun. These are disc images that are otherwise safe and don't mess with the actual installer. Also certain trusted uploaders seem safe, such as girlcelly, the uploader of the torrent I linked.

 

Do you care if I ask exactly which one the autorun is?  I want to be more certain.  How do you identify the autorun file?  Is the autorun best uninstalled once the torrent download has been completed?  What should I do in the event of an infection?

[Zodai]

I am newer to torrenting so I can say anything with certainty but if the file has a lot of downloads and is trusted in the comments section isn't that a way to tell? On top of that you have your security system to back it up. 

 

Believe me I much rather use Fuwa, it was the first site i used for these things, but since that isn't an option anymore gotta make due.

 

Who knows I may be wrong about all of that, lol.

 

I'm just one who really wants to understand the situation/details before jumping in like this. 

[Decay]

Do you care if I ask exactly which one the autorun is?  I want to be more certain.  How do you identify the autorun file?  Is the autorun best uninstalled once the torrent download has been completed?  What should I do in the event of an infection?

An autorun is a script that attempts to run whenever a disc is inserted into a computer. By default, ever since Windows XP, your OS will ask you if you want to run it whenever you insert the disc. It's meant to make installations easy, e.g. insert disc and the installer automatically runs. Some pirates of Japanese eroge seem to be modifying the autorun scripts to install malware. However, this appears to be very rare, and also if you instead ignore the popup that happens when you insert the disc/mount the image and browse into the CD's directory structure, and run setup.exe or whatever the equivalent installer file is, you will avoid said malware.

 

I mentioned it as a precaution, but it really does seem to be a very rare occurrence anyways.

[Zodai]

An autorun is a script that attempts to run whenever a disc is inserted into a computer. By default, ever since Windows XP, your OS will ask you if you want to run it whenever you insert the disc. It's meant to make installations easy, e.g. insert disc and the installer automatically runs. Some pirates of Japanese eroge seem to be modifying the autorun scripts to install malware. However, this appears to be very rare, and also if you instead ignore the popup that happens when you insert the disc/mount the image and browse into the CD's directory structure, and run setup.exe or whatever the equivalent installer file is, you will avoid said malware.

 

I mentioned it as a precaution, but it really does seem to be a very rare occurrence anyways.

 

What other kinds of malware could be inside the torrents?  What types of viruses could be there?  Are there any other types of things to be careful of?  How do we know what the equivalent installer file is?  Will the autorun try to activate again after the initial download?

[Decay]

In my mind, the torrents on nyaa by known uploaders are no more unsafe on average than the ones uploaded to fuwanovel, there is always a chance of something you're downloading being infected, no matter what it is or where it is from. I'm not sure what specific types of malware is present, I never personally ran into it. There could always be unexpected viruses or malware in other ways, but that could be said of pretty much anything you do. It is especially risky when pirating stuff, that's just a risk you have to take if you don't want to spend money on your games. I mentioned all of the important stuff to be mindful of, follow these directions and you will be generally safe. The equivalent installer file will be called something like setup.exe, install.exe, setup.msi, etc, they're always very plainly labeled install executables. The autorun will try to pop up every time you insert a disc or mount an image.

 

This is what an autorun popup will look like in windows:

 

If you click "Open folder to view files" you will be safe from that particular style of infection.

 

Edit: Furthermore, I do believe that Nyaa polices their torrents. So if one is reported to have malware, it will be removed. This generally means that you'll only see it on newly uploaded stuff. If a torrent has been around for a while and is still there, it is almost certainly safe. 

[Monmon]

Been downloading from both Girlcelly and 2D.G.F for more than 3 years and i never got any malwares or viruses. In fact 98% all my eroge both Nukige and vns were from them.

That is why i can assure Decay's guide is 98.9% foolproof and free of viruses.

And if some of the games are not working, try to go to Anime-share link in the description page usually it contains help.

[Deep Blue]

Downloading KS from fuwa would be pretty stupid though.

 

Also is it even a nakige? I know it's been meme'd as FEEEEEEEELS but it's not even sad most of the time.

I think KS is the definition of nakige or clannad after life for example.

[Fred the Barber]

Hmm... I've finished 2/5 routes in Katawa Shoujo and don't recall getting teary at all; Key VNs, on the other hand, seem to hit me right in the feels. It might be the lack of voice acting in Katawa Shoujo making it harder for me to feel emotionally involved, though.

 

Zodai, you should definitely pick up all things Key that you haven't yet played, if you're looking for nakige - that's the angle I'm typically looking for in VNs, and I haven't yet played one from Key that I didn't thoroughly enjoy.

[grim_tales1]

I forgot about Cross Channel and now its gone from Fuwa, doh!
Wasnt there a revised translation for that?

[Decay]

A new translation from scratch by George Henry Shaft, it was actually made as a companion for his fricking novel about the game. Also, it was somehow even worse than Ixrec's already kinda bad translation.

[Zodai]

I forgot about Cross Channel and now its gone from Fuwa, doh!

Wasnt there a revised translation for that?

 

It's still there.  Remember, the torrents are down on .net, but you can still get them if you go to .org

[Snowtsuku]

I have everything on the list so...

[grim_tales1]

It's still there.  Remember, the torrents are down on .net, but you can still get them if you go to .org

[Yuuko]

I just finished downloading almost everything on the list and some others too. I think it will take me few years to read all of these.

[XReaper]

lucky you, i got last week from whatever source i may downloaded something that nice little mystartsearch program.....
took me at least up to 50 hours till i completely eradicated it from my laptop, not to mention that i had to deinstall firefox, cause it wouldn´t go away with all tricks i tried.
so it definitely does matter from where and what

[havoc]

lucky you, i got last week from whatever source i may downloaded something that nice little mystartsearch program.....

took me at least up to 50 hours till i completely eradicated it from my laptop, not to mention that i had to deinstall firefox, cause it wouldn´t go away with all tricks i tried.

so it definitely does matter from where and what

well that sucks, and i have had other things but they mostly consisted of the occasional java exploid ( which i did not even notice till i scanned my pc).

 

then agains i usually check my active process list every once in a while for things i dont recognise or are using strange amounts of something.

And clean my pc digitally about three times each year for things i forgot about or dont need anymore.

 

Good maintanance is the best prevention in my eyes anyway.

well that and using your brains when you download something or browse the internet, which a lot if people dont seems to do

well news flash for those lord almighty or somethinggave you brains, USE THEM.

 

That felt good neded to get tht out of my system. ( my parents or of the braindead variety when they download and browse so this can sometimes get me a little worked up)

[grim_tales1]

Downloading Cross Channel now, maybe its my internet but the speed is horrible

[grim_tales1]

Symphonic Rain is supposed to be very good according to some here, but from the synopsis it just sounds more like a romance VN about music..? Is it really so good?

[Zakamutt]

It's a charage with some serious quality to its characterization. Has other interesting story elements, but those are spoilers

Also has a love-it-or-hate-it rhythm minigame. I might have accidentally put it on hard as default (if it uses more than one row of keys for you that's it). Said minigame can be set to auto-play if you wish. Bit draggy in the middle, but it's a real classic.

[grim_tales1]

Thank you ^^ What does charage mean?

[Zakamutt]

Lemme see... I once summarized it as "VNs focused on character-centered plotlines, usually romantic at some point."

 

I'm not a terminology expert.

[Vince]

actually, the news don't have any hard impact on me at all, since i don't (couldn't) use torrent even if i really want.

shitty connection

i've withstood thousands download from hosting files

and thousand errors because of them.

[sarkasmus]

Okay, since people seem unsure how to procure stuff in a post-fuwatorrent future, here's a super brief and simple guide on how to find Japanese VN .ISOs. I will not be giving detailed install instructions. It will vary per game and I believe that part will be a site feature in the future.

 

1. Search for the game you want in VNDB.

2. Look for the "Original Title" field just under the game's name to find the Japanese spelling, copy it. If it does not have this, that means it was originally written in English, and you should copy that instead.

3. Paste that into [no linking or mentioning torrent sites]

4. In my example search, I'm searching for Majikoi, which is 真剣で私に恋しなさい. There are a ton of entries to the series so you'll get a lot of torrents, you want the one with the most seeds and no additions to the title. 

5. ~tada~! [no linking or mentioning torrent sites] - You'll notice that these often come with extras. When you load the torrent you can safely deselect all of the non-game components 

 

You will need disc image mounting software, I think daemon tools lite is the easiest to use. Most of the time installation is as simple as an english language game, if you're familiar with doing that it shouldn't be a problem. Do take care to 1) not run the autorun, there have been reports of some of these being infected with malware, and 2) do not install to program files or other write-protected directories. After that, carefully read the readme supplied in every english patch release for instructions on how to properly install the patch. 90% of the time it's as simple as copying files over to the install folder.

 

I mean yeah, this is all super basic. If you can't find what you want, search on www.anime-sharing.com instead. If you can't find what you want there, cry. Sometimes non-eroge VNs get uploaded to the main [no linking or mentioning torrent sites] site, not the [no linking or mentioning torrent sites] one, so search there, too. You'll have to be a little more resourceful, but it's really not all that hard. Generally speaking, once a patch comes out for a game, it is highly unlikely that it will actually be hard to find. Someone will make it available somewhere obvious.

 

Thanks for posting this, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to play new VNs anymore (I was sure there are other sites, but I didn't know/find them).

[sub-zer0]

Downloading F/SN and F/Hollow Ataraxia since I don't have them yet,I wonder if keeping the torrents is good enough or do you have to actually download the VN before the links are taken down 

[Decay]

Symphonic Rain is supposed to be very good according to some here, but from the synopsis it just sounds more like a romance VN about music..? Is it really so good?

I think it's very overrated. The drama wasn't particularly compelling, the most interesting part was one of the unlockable routes but it doesn't save the VN. The game had almost no humor, so you have to be able to tolerate a very serious and dry story centered around romantic drama and music. And one that's not all that good, either. This appears to be an unpopular opinion.