399
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
no edit summary
As mentioned above, scammers would claim to be the first to successfully emulate a particular platform, even though there hasn't been much work done as far as reverse-engineering the original hardware goes; exceptions exist such as with the [[Game Boy Advance emulators|Game Boy Advance]] having its first emulator<ref>[https://www.zophar.net/gba/gbaemu.html GBAEmu]</ref> released ''a year'' before the actual hardware made it to store shelves, though that was due to a massive developer kit leak. And even then, it takes ''years'' to improve if not perfect an emulator's ability to run commercial games, especially for platforms with complex architectures such as the [[PlayStation 3 emulators|PlayStation 3]].
Said surveys are, in essence, a trojan Trojan horse, as internet fraudsters and charlatans prey on less-savvy users who may not understand the inner workings of an emulator (or video game hardware in general), and thus profit from their gullibility whenever said users are made to fill out useless surveys. Scammers operate on a commission basis, where they are paid for each successful survey filled up or adware downloaded. Not to mention that less-than-scrupulous ad networks can and will profit from a person's private information for them to sell to the highest bidder. While it is easy for the likes of Nintendo to file a cease-and-desist order and have those sites taken down for trademark infringement, this is, ironically enough, hampered by previous legal precedent which has made ''legitimate'' emulation legal, thereby insulating scammers from liability, and the fact that most if not all scammers operate offshore, sidestepping any DMCA ruling against them.
==Variants==
Variations of the scam include, but are not limited to:
* Fake websites with the appearance of a legitimate emulation project, complete with doctored screenshots and video footage along with seemingly-convincing yet patently false claims about compatibility and/or performance, and with some setting up an equally phony Github GitHub repo again to give the illusion of legitimacy.
* Videos from less-than-reputable sources or compromised YouTube accounts claiming to offer an emulator or a mobile port of a console game, examples being ''Grand Theft Auto V'' for Android or iOS.
* Scam apps on Google Play. Due to the anarchic nature of Google's app ecosystem, it is easy for fraudsters and script kiddies to either upload an adware-laced fork of an existing open-source emulator, pass them off as their own and profit off of it, or cobble up an outright fake like those "PS2 emulators" that sprung up for a time prior to [[DamonPS2]]'s release, which are little more than [[PPSSPP]] deceptively repackaged and riddled with advertisements.
* Using "Remote Play" or screencasting to make it look like it's running on natively on a PC or mobile and claiming it's an emulator. Remote Play is a feature that let's lets users stream the input and visual data from their console to a different device and is available for the PS4/PS5 and Xbox One/Series X|S. With this it's entirely possible to make it ''look'' like a PS4/PS5 or Xbox game is running on a PC or a mobile device at full speed when really it's just streaming the video information from the physical console.
==For your consideration==
==Notable scams==
*PCSX4 - Appears to be a site hosted in France , with the usual survey malarkey. It also is alleged to have been set up to steal PSIDs from legitimate PS4 consoles. There's are also many other versions of this scam emulator.*eMu3Ds - Uses the fake emulator shell scam. Installing the emulator leads to a fake UI which prompts users to fill up a survey for a non-existent BIOS. Site The site now hosts a likely infected build of [[Citra]].
*Artemis - Has a channel on YouTube demonstrating a purported PlayStation 3 emulator for Android. MrSujano has made a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFKuoe3t4g8 short video] dispelling such claims, besides the fairly obvious fact that PS3 emulation is already system-intensive even on high-end systems, let alone commodity mobile devices.
*An emulator simply named "Xbox One Emulator" - Joshua Cannell from MalwareBytes said that this emulator has files from PCSX2, had fake "proved" images and videos, and gives you a trick used to gather your personal information for spam and other malicious purposes.
