I would like to know if the program bluestacks is safe to download, and if it will give me a virus. Here is the link address in case you need it. Bluestacks 4 is free to download and is the latest version of this App player to come out. It uses less CPU and memory than previous versions due to the more efficient management of resources. Users like that this latest version has a simple and uncluttered home screen.
Bluestacks is the most popular Android Emulator for computers. Millions of users rely on Bluestacks to emulate Android apps on Windows and Mac PC. However, sometimes your antivirus may report Bluestacks as a possible threat to the system. This arises the question- Is Bluestacks Safe?
In this post, I will try to answer the same question and will explain everything in detail to you. If you have the question, is Bluestacks safe for your PC, just go through this post and you'll find answers to all your doubts about this.
Contents
- 1 Everything You Should Know About Bluestacks – Is it Safe?
Everything You Should Know About Bluestacks – Is it Safe?
To begin with, we'll take a quick look at what Bluestacks is, what is the purpose of using Bluestacks, and how to use it on Windows and Mac PC. Then, we'll move further to find an answer to the question- Is Bluestacks safe for my PC, and also to why it is considered as a possible threat.
What is Bluestacks & Why it is used?
Bluestacks is an Android Emulator available for both Windows and Mac OS. It is used to emulate android apps on these. Emulation is the process of using a program developed for a certain operating system on another one. In simple words, Bluestacks is a software that allows you to use Android apps on your computer. It is the most popular Android emulator available globally. You can use it to emulate any Android app or games on your computer or laptop.
A lot of people use Bluestacks to play PUBG Mobile or other mobile games on their computer or to use WhatsApp and other Android apps on their PC. There are advanced uses as well like Developers trying out their apps to find out the existing bugs. This emulator is able to run around 95% of the Android apps available on the Play Store. The user interface of Bluestacks is also simple and looks just like an Android device.
How to Install & Use Bluestacks on Windows and Mac PC?
The process to download, install, and use Bluestacks is very simple on both Windows and Mac computers. I'll breakdown the whole procedure into simple steps. Just follow them and you'll have Bluestacks up and running on your system.
Step-1: Visit the official Bluestacks website and download the latest version of the Software. Make sure you download the right bit version of Bluestacks (32 or 64) depending upon your PC.
Step-2: Install Bluestacks on your computer and go through the setup by following the on-screen instructions.
Step-3: Once the app is set up, you can create an account or log in using the existing Google account. Then, you can go to the Play Store and download the apps & games that you want to use with Bluestacks.
That's it. This is how you install and use Bluestacks on Windows and Mac PC.
Is Bluestacks Safe? Detailed Review
The shortest and most simple answer to this question is YES.Bluestacks is completely safe and there is nothing you should worry about in Bluestacks. It has securely signed certificates and the secondary applications are not bundled with it. The only thing you should care about in Bluestacks is the apps you install. You should only download trusted and safe apps from the Play Store. If you keep downloading apps from other sources, they may contain a virus, spyware, adware or other threats, and this may lead to your antivirus diagnosing Bluestacks as a threat.
One thing to note is Bluestacks may cause performance-related issues on your PC when you try to run heavy games or apps. So, always try to run the games and apps for which your computer has compatible specifications.
Is it a Virus or Malware?
NO,BlueStacks is not a virus or malware. It is just an Android Emulator that is used to run Android apps and games on Windows and Mac computers. We tested Bluestacks with a number of credible antiviruses like AVG, Comodo, Kaspersky, and Avast to know if it contains any threats.
The results came out with Bluestacks successfully getting a clean chit. None of the antiviruses reported Bluestacks as a threat.
Is Bluestacks Legal?
Yes, Bluestacks is completely legal to use. It doesn't perform any illegal actions. It just emulates the Android apps that are legal to use and run them on an operating system. If it were emulating the hardware of a physical device, then it would be considered illegal but it doesn't. It only runs the Android apps and games on your Windows and Mac PC without any illegal activity.
Is it Rooted or Non-Rooted?
Bluestacks is not rooted by default, unlike the other emulators. However, you can root Bluestacks if you want. You'll need a tool like BSTweaker (Bluestacks Tweaker) in order to root it. Rooting Bluestacks is pretty simple and anyone can do it on their own. If you need help with rooting Bluestacks, you can ask me in the comments below. I'll explain the whole steps there.
Or, a simple way to use rooted Bluestacks is downloading the Rooted Version of Bluestacks. You can download it from here. However, this version is untrusted and may come up with certain risks.
Why is Bluestacks Considered as a Threat?
Bluestacks is considered as a threat because of some antivirus tools falsely reporting it as a threat (virus, malware, etc). However, there isn't any real evidence of Bluestacks being a threat. You can prevent this from happening by marking Bluestacks as a trusted app in your antivirus program. Sometimes the antivirus sometimes may mistake it as a problem when there is a malicious app installed in Bluestacks. In this case, the antivirus will report Bluestacks as the virus.
One more reason why Bluestacks is considered as a threat is that it asks to disable antivirus during the installation process. But, that is only done to get the maximum performance out of the hardware. There isn't any hidden or evil purpose for that. Other reasons include Bluestacks running slow, PC freezing, and rumors.
Conclusion
The answer to the question 'Is Bluestacks safe' that we can conclude from the information mentioned above is that Bluestacks is completely safe. You can download, install and use it without any worries. It isn't a virus and it is legal to use. It won't cause any problems to your PC, except slowing it down only if you are using it on below than recommended specifications. I personally use Bluestacks to run my favorite android apps and games on my laptop. There are many advantages that you'll realize only after using it.
That's all for this post. I hope it helps to clear your curiosity. If you still have any doubts or queries, you can put them in the comment section. I'll try to answer them as soon as possible.
Bluestacks is an American based tech-company that produces BluestacksAndroid emulator for PC or MAC. Moreover, the software is free to download, and owing to this perk the company has attracted millions of users worldwide. However, cross-platform products are usually prone to errors and bugs but most importantly they do possess an elevated risk of a security breach. Consequently, this uncertainty raises a question among potential users whether Bluestacks is safe to use or not?
We are here to put an end to any speculation by providing our readers with what we believe is our take on this dilemma.
Furthermore, we will be trying our best to present pieces of evidence with each of our claims just to eliminate gaps for any doubts.
Is Bluestacks Safe?
Bluestacks Android emulator is totally safe to use on PC or MAC. And to prove this statement we provide you with a detailed report on the safety of Bluestacks, all the while eliminating any speculation.
Bluestacks Android emulator allows its users to download and run almost 95% of all the apps available on the Google Playstore onto PC or MAC.
In other words, users can enjoy a wide range of Android apps, from gaming to social media. So in consequence of such a high percentage and plain convenience, new users are eager to try out the software.
Now, when it comes to safety, we have not yet succeeded in obtaining any concrete evidence that would suggest that Bluestacks Android emulator is malicious.
There has been a report which stated that the Antivirus software, McAfee and Avast have labeled the software as malicious. However, the report later turned out to be false.
Bluestacks might ask for you to halt antivirus operations on your system. But, there is no need to worry about it because antivirus software can interfere with the downloading procedure.
To clarify, if a file is prevented from being downloaded but the installation proceeds further, the software might not work as it was supposed to, in such a case, after installation.
Is Bluestacks Android emulator safe for PC?
There is no harm in saying YES, indeed Bluestacks Android emulator is not only safe to use but super convenient. That is to say, you no longer have to use your phone all the time while you are on your computer.
Bluestacks Android emulatoris neither malware nor insecure, although it automatically sends user data statistics back to its servers, which is just for Bluestacksto improve its services.
Bluestacks will not ask for your personal information but if you do feel insecure you can always turn off the user data statistics feature from the settings.
Is Bluestacks Android emulator safe for MAC?
The same goes for MAC users, BlueStacks is a safe to use Android emulator. This fact also proves beneficial to those Apple users out there that want you to use any particular Android app which is not available on the App Store.
Similarly, Bluestacks will not ask for your personal information but if you do feel insecure you can always turn off the user data statistics feature from the settings.
Let us have a look at some of the BlueStacks reviews by some users:
What is Bluestacks?
Bluestacks is an Android emulator designed with the sole purpose of replicating the entire functionalities of Android onto a PC or MAC, in doing so this enables its users to have a quick look at their social media accounts and pages from their work or home desktops or laptops, also enabling them to play games that were only made available for smartphones or tablets.
This unique feature has made the company very popular with an astounding number of users online.
Bluestacks have also made sure the app is in no way malicious or posing any security threats to its users.
Moreover, earlier versions were reported to be running apps slower than usual. A user reports:
In addition to slow operation, earlier versions were also notorious for causing installation issues. However, you need not worry much about how the older versions operated. The newest version of Bluestacks is called the Bluestacks 4 Android emulator.
Is Bluestacks Android emulator legal to use?
The only reason people speculate on the legality of the software is because most emulators do violate rules and regulation.
However, Bluestacks is an Android emulator, and Android is an open-sourced operating system, meaning you can modify the operating system according to your utilization.
Secondly, Bluestacks is just an emulator that is not malicious in any way and it allows its users access to login into there Google Play accounts. In other words, it is safe to say Bluestacks is legal to use.
Is Bluestacks running slow?
If you think you are experiencing this issue than try to wrap your head around the fact that BlueStacks utilizes virtualization technology to mimic an Android OS operating on your system.
After that, it runs the apps over it and gaming apps can be a bit graphics intensive even for your system.
Consequently, you might be overburdening your RAM, Bluestacks needs at least 2GB of RAM and a minimum of 4GB of the hard disk to perform at its optimal level.
Older versions were reportedly slower and that might have been a software-related issue. Although Bluestacks has acknowledged these issues and have been working on improving its software.
Therefore, if you are facing performance issues we would suggest you clear up some RAM space and optimize your CPU. Also, remember to update graphics drivers and close all unnecessary programs running in the background.
PC requirements for optimum performance
The minimum system requirements are listed below:
- OS: Microsoft Windows 7 and above
- Processor: Intel or AMD Processor
- HDD:5GB free disk space
- RAM: Your PC must have at least 2GB of RAM. (though having 2GB of RAM might cause the apps to run slow.)
- Up-to-date graphics drivers from Microsoft
- You must be an Administrator on your PC.
However, the recommended system requirements for optimum performance are as follows:
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10
- RAM: 8GB or higher
- HDD: SSD (or Fusion/Hybrid Drives)
- Processor: Intel or AMD Multi-Core Processor with Single Thread PassMark score > 1000, with virtualization extensions enabled in the BIOS.
- Graphics: Intel/Nvidia/ATI, Onboard or Discrete controller with PassMark score >= 750.
- Internet: Broadband connection to access games, accounts, and related content.
- Up-to-date graphics drivers from Microsoft
- It is recommended installing the BlueStacks App Player if you have a virtual machine (Microsoft Virtual PC, VMWare Workstation, or Oracle Virtualbox) installed on the same PC.
FAQs about BlueStacks Android emulator
Is Bluestacks free?
Ans: Yes, Bluestacks Android emulator is free to download.
What can Bluestacks do?
Ans: Bluestacks is an Android emulator that enables its users to experience the Android mobile ecosystem from the comfort of their desktop or laptop.
Which is better NOX or bluestacks?
Ans: Bluestacks has outperformed NOX is every benchmark so needless to say Bluestacks is better.
Is Bluestacks safe for your computer?
Ans: Yes, Bluestacks Android emulator is safe and secure. There is no evidence of it being a malicious software of any kind.
Can you get a virus from Bluestacks?
Ans: No, Bluestacks is safe to use.
Can I install Snapchat on my PC using Bluestacks?
Ans: Yes definitely, the whole point of using Bluestacks is to be able to use all your mobile apps on your PC or laptop.
How to install BlueStacks on MAC
This is a fairly straight-forward method. However, before we begin let us look at some of the system requirements:
- Operating System: Mac OS Sierra(10.12), High Sierra (10.13) and Mojave(10.14)
- RAM:4GB RAM
- HDD: 4GB disk space
- Up-to-date graphics drivers.
- Updated App Store app from Apple.
- Make sure that you have the latest graphics drivers for your Mac's graphics card.
- You must be an Administrator on your PC.
Once you have gone through all the requirements head over to the BlueStacks website and begin the procedure by downloading the installation file.
Choose MAC OS as the operating system and click on the 'Download' button. Once the file download has finished, double-click the icon to proceed with the installation.
Click the 'Install Now' button to start the process.
Bluestacks 4.90 Download
However, if you get a ‘System Extension Blocked' popup, then click on 'Open Security Privacy', next click on ‘Allow' in ‘Security & Privacy' settings and you should be good to go.
Ubuntu lts download. Now just wait and let the installer extract all the necessary files, the entire downloading process should only take a couple of minutes (faster if you have a high-spec system).
Once the download is completed the software will ask you for the Google Play account sign-up. In that case, if you already have an account just sign in and enjoy your Android App on your MAC.
A similar method will follow suit for downloading Bluestacks on your PCrunning Windows. Just download the installation file from the Bluestacks website.
Choose the appropriate OS and begin to download it. Once the file has been downloaded just run the installer and enjoy your apps.
Final words
The shortest and most simple answer to this question is YES.Bluestacks is completely safe and there is nothing you should worry about in Bluestacks. It has securely signed certificates and the secondary applications are not bundled with it. The only thing you should care about in Bluestacks is the apps you install. You should only download trusted and safe apps from the Play Store. If you keep downloading apps from other sources, they may contain a virus, spyware, adware or other threats, and this may lead to your antivirus diagnosing Bluestacks as a threat.
One thing to note is Bluestacks may cause performance-related issues on your PC when you try to run heavy games or apps. So, always try to run the games and apps for which your computer has compatible specifications.
Is it a Virus or Malware?
NO,BlueStacks is not a virus or malware. It is just an Android Emulator that is used to run Android apps and games on Windows and Mac computers. We tested Bluestacks with a number of credible antiviruses like AVG, Comodo, Kaspersky, and Avast to know if it contains any threats.
The results came out with Bluestacks successfully getting a clean chit. None of the antiviruses reported Bluestacks as a threat.
Is Bluestacks Legal?
Yes, Bluestacks is completely legal to use. It doesn't perform any illegal actions. It just emulates the Android apps that are legal to use and run them on an operating system. If it were emulating the hardware of a physical device, then it would be considered illegal but it doesn't. It only runs the Android apps and games on your Windows and Mac PC without any illegal activity.
Is it Rooted or Non-Rooted?
Bluestacks is not rooted by default, unlike the other emulators. However, you can root Bluestacks if you want. You'll need a tool like BSTweaker (Bluestacks Tweaker) in order to root it. Rooting Bluestacks is pretty simple and anyone can do it on their own. If you need help with rooting Bluestacks, you can ask me in the comments below. I'll explain the whole steps there.
Or, a simple way to use rooted Bluestacks is downloading the Rooted Version of Bluestacks. You can download it from here. However, this version is untrusted and may come up with certain risks.
Why is Bluestacks Considered as a Threat?
Bluestacks is considered as a threat because of some antivirus tools falsely reporting it as a threat (virus, malware, etc). However, there isn't any real evidence of Bluestacks being a threat. You can prevent this from happening by marking Bluestacks as a trusted app in your antivirus program. Sometimes the antivirus sometimes may mistake it as a problem when there is a malicious app installed in Bluestacks. In this case, the antivirus will report Bluestacks as the virus.
One more reason why Bluestacks is considered as a threat is that it asks to disable antivirus during the installation process. But, that is only done to get the maximum performance out of the hardware. There isn't any hidden or evil purpose for that. Other reasons include Bluestacks running slow, PC freezing, and rumors.
Conclusion
The answer to the question 'Is Bluestacks safe' that we can conclude from the information mentioned above is that Bluestacks is completely safe. You can download, install and use it without any worries. It isn't a virus and it is legal to use. It won't cause any problems to your PC, except slowing it down only if you are using it on below than recommended specifications. I personally use Bluestacks to run my favorite android apps and games on my laptop. There are many advantages that you'll realize only after using it.
That's all for this post. I hope it helps to clear your curiosity. If you still have any doubts or queries, you can put them in the comment section. I'll try to answer them as soon as possible.
Bluestacks is an American based tech-company that produces BluestacksAndroid emulator for PC or MAC. Moreover, the software is free to download, and owing to this perk the company has attracted millions of users worldwide. However, cross-platform products are usually prone to errors and bugs but most importantly they do possess an elevated risk of a security breach. Consequently, this uncertainty raises a question among potential users whether Bluestacks is safe to use or not?
We are here to put an end to any speculation by providing our readers with what we believe is our take on this dilemma.
Furthermore, we will be trying our best to present pieces of evidence with each of our claims just to eliminate gaps for any doubts.
Is Bluestacks Safe?
Bluestacks Android emulator is totally safe to use on PC or MAC. And to prove this statement we provide you with a detailed report on the safety of Bluestacks, all the while eliminating any speculation.
Bluestacks Android emulator allows its users to download and run almost 95% of all the apps available on the Google Playstore onto PC or MAC.
In other words, users can enjoy a wide range of Android apps, from gaming to social media. So in consequence of such a high percentage and plain convenience, new users are eager to try out the software.
Now, when it comes to safety, we have not yet succeeded in obtaining any concrete evidence that would suggest that Bluestacks Android emulator is malicious.
There has been a report which stated that the Antivirus software, McAfee and Avast have labeled the software as malicious. However, the report later turned out to be false.
Bluestacks might ask for you to halt antivirus operations on your system. But, there is no need to worry about it because antivirus software can interfere with the downloading procedure.
To clarify, if a file is prevented from being downloaded but the installation proceeds further, the software might not work as it was supposed to, in such a case, after installation.
Is Bluestacks Android emulator safe for PC?
There is no harm in saying YES, indeed Bluestacks Android emulator is not only safe to use but super convenient. That is to say, you no longer have to use your phone all the time while you are on your computer.
Bluestacks Android emulatoris neither malware nor insecure, although it automatically sends user data statistics back to its servers, which is just for Bluestacksto improve its services.
Bluestacks will not ask for your personal information but if you do feel insecure you can always turn off the user data statistics feature from the settings.
Is Bluestacks Android emulator safe for MAC?
The same goes for MAC users, BlueStacks is a safe to use Android emulator. This fact also proves beneficial to those Apple users out there that want you to use any particular Android app which is not available on the App Store.
Similarly, Bluestacks will not ask for your personal information but if you do feel insecure you can always turn off the user data statistics feature from the settings.
Let us have a look at some of the BlueStacks reviews by some users:
What is Bluestacks?
Bluestacks is an Android emulator designed with the sole purpose of replicating the entire functionalities of Android onto a PC or MAC, in doing so this enables its users to have a quick look at their social media accounts and pages from their work or home desktops or laptops, also enabling them to play games that were only made available for smartphones or tablets.
This unique feature has made the company very popular with an astounding number of users online.
Bluestacks have also made sure the app is in no way malicious or posing any security threats to its users.
Moreover, earlier versions were reported to be running apps slower than usual. A user reports:
In addition to slow operation, earlier versions were also notorious for causing installation issues. However, you need not worry much about how the older versions operated. The newest version of Bluestacks is called the Bluestacks 4 Android emulator.
Is Bluestacks Android emulator legal to use?
The only reason people speculate on the legality of the software is because most emulators do violate rules and regulation.
However, Bluestacks is an Android emulator, and Android is an open-sourced operating system, meaning you can modify the operating system according to your utilization.
Secondly, Bluestacks is just an emulator that is not malicious in any way and it allows its users access to login into there Google Play accounts. In other words, it is safe to say Bluestacks is legal to use.
Is Bluestacks running slow?
If you think you are experiencing this issue than try to wrap your head around the fact that BlueStacks utilizes virtualization technology to mimic an Android OS operating on your system.
After that, it runs the apps over it and gaming apps can be a bit graphics intensive even for your system.
Consequently, you might be overburdening your RAM, Bluestacks needs at least 2GB of RAM and a minimum of 4GB of the hard disk to perform at its optimal level.
Older versions were reportedly slower and that might have been a software-related issue. Although Bluestacks has acknowledged these issues and have been working on improving its software.
Therefore, if you are facing performance issues we would suggest you clear up some RAM space and optimize your CPU. Also, remember to update graphics drivers and close all unnecessary programs running in the background.
PC requirements for optimum performance
The minimum system requirements are listed below:
- OS: Microsoft Windows 7 and above
- Processor: Intel or AMD Processor
- HDD:5GB free disk space
- RAM: Your PC must have at least 2GB of RAM. (though having 2GB of RAM might cause the apps to run slow.)
- Up-to-date graphics drivers from Microsoft
- You must be an Administrator on your PC.
However, the recommended system requirements for optimum performance are as follows:
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10
- RAM: 8GB or higher
- HDD: SSD (or Fusion/Hybrid Drives)
- Processor: Intel or AMD Multi-Core Processor with Single Thread PassMark score > 1000, with virtualization extensions enabled in the BIOS.
- Graphics: Intel/Nvidia/ATI, Onboard or Discrete controller with PassMark score >= 750.
- Internet: Broadband connection to access games, accounts, and related content.
- Up-to-date graphics drivers from Microsoft
- It is recommended installing the BlueStacks App Player if you have a virtual machine (Microsoft Virtual PC, VMWare Workstation, or Oracle Virtualbox) installed on the same PC.
FAQs about BlueStacks Android emulator
Is Bluestacks free?
Ans: Yes, Bluestacks Android emulator is free to download.
What can Bluestacks do?
Ans: Bluestacks is an Android emulator that enables its users to experience the Android mobile ecosystem from the comfort of their desktop or laptop.
Which is better NOX or bluestacks?
Ans: Bluestacks has outperformed NOX is every benchmark so needless to say Bluestacks is better.
Is Bluestacks safe for your computer?
Ans: Yes, Bluestacks Android emulator is safe and secure. There is no evidence of it being a malicious software of any kind.
Can you get a virus from Bluestacks?
Ans: No, Bluestacks is safe to use.
Can I install Snapchat on my PC using Bluestacks?
Ans: Yes definitely, the whole point of using Bluestacks is to be able to use all your mobile apps on your PC or laptop.
How to install BlueStacks on MAC
This is a fairly straight-forward method. However, before we begin let us look at some of the system requirements:
- Operating System: Mac OS Sierra(10.12), High Sierra (10.13) and Mojave(10.14)
- RAM:4GB RAM
- HDD: 4GB disk space
- Up-to-date graphics drivers.
- Updated App Store app from Apple.
- Make sure that you have the latest graphics drivers for your Mac's graphics card.
- You must be an Administrator on your PC.
Once you have gone through all the requirements head over to the BlueStacks website and begin the procedure by downloading the installation file.
Choose MAC OS as the operating system and click on the 'Download' button. Once the file download has finished, double-click the icon to proceed with the installation.
Click the 'Install Now' button to start the process.
Bluestacks 4.90 Download
However, if you get a ‘System Extension Blocked' popup, then click on 'Open Security Privacy', next click on ‘Allow' in ‘Security & Privacy' settings and you should be good to go.
Ubuntu lts download. Now just wait and let the installer extract all the necessary files, the entire downloading process should only take a couple of minutes (faster if you have a high-spec system).
Once the download is completed the software will ask you for the Google Play account sign-up. In that case, if you already have an account just sign in and enjoy your Android App on your MAC.
A similar method will follow suit for downloading Bluestacks on your PCrunning Windows. Just download the installation file from the Bluestacks website.
Choose the appropriate OS and begin to download it. Once the file has been downloaded just run the installer and enjoy your apps.
Final words
Bluestacks has bridged the gap between mobile applications and PC programs, users can now benefit from this software and run any mobile application on their system.
The plus point being it is completely legal to do so and secure.
We believe this article has answered almost all your queries and doubts about Bluestacks software.
Download Bluestacks 3 For Pc
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