We sometimes see questions about the use of our plugins when purchased from sites other than uncannyowl.com and automatorplugin.com, so we put this article together to explain what those plugins are and the risks associated with using them.
All Uncanny Owl plugins are released under a GPL (GNU General Public License), meaning the source code is open and can be modified and reused. This keeps things far easier for our customers and for developers that use our products.
What are nulled plugins?
Sometimes people take our plugins and make them available for unauthorized use. Nulled plugins are pirated copies of premium WordPress plugins like ours that are distributed unethically online.
Organizations that do this are not affiliated with Uncanny Owl, and users that support these types of sites cause us to lose money and release fewer features. Most importantly for our users, nulled WordPress plugins can compromise the security and integrity of the websites on which these cracked plugins are used, and they are often the cause of website hacks.
Where to get Uncanny Owl plugins
The only authorized places to download and purchase Uncanny Owl plugins are on uncannyowl.com and automatorplugin.com. There are no other download locations that are guaranteed to have safe code and where our developers are paid for their work.
More specifically, here is a list of our plugins and a link to their download locations:
- Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash
- Uncanny Toolkit Pro for LearnDash
- Uncanny Groups for LearnDash
- Tin Canny Reporting for LearnDash
- Uncanny Continuing Education Credits
- Uncanny Codes
- Uncanny Automator
- Uncanny Automator Pro
Why you should avoid nulled Uncanny Owl plugins
We know that as a business starting out, WordPress plugins can quickly increase your costs. If you’re using Uncanny Owl plugins, maybe our All Access Pass can offer some cost savings or if you’re a non-profit you can contact us for options.
Here are some of the top reasons you should never used a nulled Uncanny Owl plugin:
1. Security
Uncanny Owl and Uncanny Automator nulled versions are very dangerous and can negatively impact your WordPress security. That’s because many cracked plugins are known to carry malware. Here’s a recent example of nulled plugins opening security vulnerabilities on a WordPress website that were easily exploited: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/wordpress-malware-distributed-via-pirated-coronavirus-plugins/.
Hacked plugins can compromise websites and allow attackers to gain personal user information, inject dangerous links, break functionality and become blacklisted from search engines. The potential risk is not worth the reduced cost.
2. No support from Uncanny Owl
Our team is only able to provide support for users of Uncanny Owl plugins that have an active, legitimate license. Users without a valid license will unfortunately be turned away and there is no third-party provider of support for our plugins. Nulled plugin users are completely on their own if anything goes wrong.
3. No access to plugin updates
We release plugin updates regularly to ensure compatibility with WordPress, with LearnDash, and with our other plugins. In a typical year we publish approximately 50 plugin updates. Nulled plugin users cannot access these updates and will lose out on important fixes, compatibility changes, new features and more.
4. Privacy breaches
Downloads that claim to be Uncanny Owl plugins can contain a variety of harmful code. Some may steal site information or intercept information provided by site users, including their usernames, email address and passwords. A customer data breach can significantly damage a brand and organization.
These types of issues with cracked plugins can be hard to detected and can often go unnoticed for months as the WordPress site keeps functioning normally.
5. Bad for SEO
Pirated plugins can destroy search engine rankings. By adding spam links to a site that hijack visitor activity, search engines will start to flag the site itself as malicious and penalize it. In some cases, hacked plugins can even result in search engines delisting your WordPress site completely.
6. Developers don’t get paid
When nulled plugins are purchased from unauthorized third parties, the money doesn’t go to developers; in fact, it can be used to finance other nefarious activity. There is often no named or known entity behind GPL sites.
By diverting revenue away from plugin developers, it makes it harder to continue funding releases and adding new features for Uncanny Owl plugin users. This also makes it harder for us to provide support, create documentation, hire staff and grow the business. Dealing with nulled plugin users also takes time away from our team that could be used making better plugins and supporting paying customers.
Buying Uncanny Owl plugins through legitimate sources
Our Uncanny Toolkit and Uncanny Automator plugins are completely free and a great way to get started with our products. Here’s a complete list with links of where to find our plugins:
- Uncanny Toolkit for LearnDash
- Uncanny Toolkit Pro for LearnDash
- Uncanny Groups for LearnDash
- Tin Canny Reporting for LearnDash
- Uncanny Continuing Education Credits
- Uncanny Codes
- Uncanny Automator
- Uncanny Automator Pro
All of our plugins come with a 30 day refund period, so there’s really no risk in buying directly from Uncanny Owl, the only legitimate source for our plugins.
