Is there any way to pirate premium WordPress plugins and minimizing the chance of getting malware? Meaning perhaps there are certain sources that are known to provide malware free content and generally have a good reputation. I know piracy will always involve risks but it doesn’t hurt to ask people with first-hand experience. I am even willing to pay but there’s no way I will afford plugins that cost hundreds of dollars a year anytime soon.
aren’t wordpress plugins just php code? i believe it would be trivial to look through, if you can obtain them in the first place.
They’re also all GPL due to the nature of Wordpress, even the “paid” ones, so if you can find a copy you’re also in the clear - just be careful of your sources.
Some of the plugins I’ve seen use “tokens” for example to enable pro features. They also have free versions but their functionality is often severely limited.
That’s the key point. Most paid plugins you can download only after paying. And if you get your hands on a copy, that doesn’t mean you’ll get updates, too. And running old plugins can considerably harm the security of your installation.
But if you can get your hands on a fully functional demo, you usually can remove limits.
I am not a dev myself, I am collaborating with someone who is though but I doubt he would be willing to do that and guarantee me the code is malware free.