I've been using the Format Factory for quite a long time, it seems, since the day I made a mod of Blood Prison video mod for GTA IV, until...
Believe it or not, VirusTotal seemed to pick this software as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Software) across 19 security vendors, including Windows Defender. Idk what's wrong with this software having being so malicious about; I'll dig about it when there is time.
Truth is, this has been picked up by the Defender, like... since 2020 or so. The Defender flagged the Format Factory and its uninstaller as PUPs, but the AVG doesn't ring any bells. Idk why the AVG installed on my PC doesn't seem to ring any bell if FF (Format Factory) is going to be a PUP as if you install a BonziBuddy on your PC. Heck, by the time I want to use it, the executables are gone (of which the system is looking for the files, it seems). I can't uninstall it too since the uninstaller EXE was gone. Probably the Defender took measures without my knowledge.
Now, why am I writing this? Apparently, the other paid software similar to Format Factory, Xilisoft Video Converter, seemed to bitch itself after finding out that the software turned from licensed to unlicensed in a period of time. It's probably because the basic "allow an app to run through the firewall" only manages inbound rules, but not the outbound ones. For the outbound you have to set it up manually. If you're using this software with random serial number plastered all over the Internet (a.k.a. pirated copy), you have to set up the firewall rules on the executables of Xilisoft to block both inbound and outbound rules. Now I uninstalled this because the activation requires me to use the Internet connection, and... ye, not gonna lie, I love all the features that showcased in this piece of software, but to buy a license? It's gonna cost more than just a monthly pocket money to pay for it (like, about 90 to 200 dollars a license). Trial version only converts the file on a maximum of 3 minutes duration and I was trying to convert a YouTube MP3 audio to WAV to allow Video Studio import compatibility. And Audacity seemed to bitch itself out when exporting to any audio format.
So, I decided to look for an alternative that are virus-free, no license needed, and at least have similar features.
An alternative called File Converter seemed to be a perfect choice, mainly because it's an open-source software, and VirusTotal seem to not flag this file as malicious. The community score on this app is great, so... no questions asked. I assume it's safe to say that this will be an alternative to any free (but PUP) and paid video/audio converting software I'd come across in 2022.
However, there's a catch. You have to manually set up your own configuration if you want to reduce the resolution or anything that suits your fancy. It's not as perfect as Xilisoft or Format Factory, but... at least it'll do in a pinch.
Well, it's at least I can say about this popular software that is... now much more like uTorrent but tend to... Idk, I never seen FF doing funny things anyway. I switched out, having ensure that I won't lose my sanity just because one problem can't be solved and I have to look for another one. This is twice I got this problem today (first was in 2020) and I hope with me having this File Converter app installed, "there won't be a third."
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