What are nulled themes?

[yunarel]

There are many nulled themes sharing on websites. I did some searching on Google and found some valuable information about it and some people said that they are hacked theme while others said they are not secure to use. I tried to download one and using iThemes Security software scan over it but everything works fine and without any errors.

My question is:
What are nulled themes?
Are nulled themes hacked or not secured?
The differences between nulled themes with free or paid themes?

Your comments would be appreciated!

 

[Rob Whisonant]

Nulled themes are illegal copies of paid themes with the copyright and or license check code removed. If you use them you are committing a crime. It's called theft.

Many hackers that null themes add trojans, malware etc to the theme. Since the bad code is new, most of the time a anti-virus will not detect it.

Just do the right thing and pay for the theme from the developer.

Karma is a bitch.

 

[elcidofaguy]

With nulled themes and plugins you are for sure asking for trouble... Without doubt you'll end up being hacked or have content amended such as dodgy links being placed on your site. Out of interest search for base64 code as that is one of the typical ways they sneak malicious code...

 

[vishwa]

Nulled themes are not secure and hence are vulnerable to hacking. Nulled themes also violates copyright. So, it will put you in trouble. For example if you are using genesis nulled theme and if they notice that you are using their nulled copy than they will sue your website with DMCA and your hosting account get suspended. So, better use of genuine copies of WordPress themes.

 

[Riviera]

What are nulled themes?
Nulled theme is a cracked theme of a paid version. this is illegal theme that free shared much online. It is like a cracked software. It is not safe because the hackers, black hat scripters can embed the "backdoor code" into it. Your website later can be a botnet, spamming, or your admin rules can be hacked by hacker.

Are nulled themes hacked or not secured?
Not secured for sure. You can try to install on a localhost for experience. But it should not be your online website. you can be hacked anytime.

The differences between nulled themes with free or paid themes?
Nulled theme is free illegal theme that cracked like i have mentioned.
Paid theme is the "premium" theme, you must pay for it. It has much functions with premium options. you can visit: themeforest.net/category/wordpress for real experience, examples.
Free theme is clean and free theme from themes providers, and it does not have much premium options like a paid theme. You can go to: wordpress.org/themes/ for examples.

Hope that i can help.

 

[Mick M]

Don't do it man, it's a rookie mistake.

Like everyone else has said, you're asking for trouble..

The best hackers are invisible.. so you may not ever see the true impact of the devastation they cause - but ignorance is not bliss.

To add to what's already been said.. One day, maybe a couple of years down the road, your site is blacklisted from Google.. your traffic tanks and you've got no idea why.

Realistically, if you're not willing to invest the $40 or $50 bucks in a safe theme, if you're not willing to do absolutely everything in your power to protect your visitors and customers, should you really be thinking about starting a business?

Personally, I would never visit a website that I knew was using a stolen theme, and no way would I link to it or recommend it to my visitors.