In many cases, the malware is deliberately designed to evade detection—ironically, by exploiting the very antivirus software it is meant to crack.
Hackers or users sometimes claim to have created, or stumbled upon, a crack or license file that keeps the software activated until this maximum date.
Cybercriminals know people search for cracks. They create fake ".avastlic" files that are actually executable malware. According to a 2023 report by Kaspersky, . The irony: you run a fake license file to get security software, but you end up infecting your PC with a keylogger.