Update: Ubisoft sent in the following statement to Game Informer: "We are aware of the issue and are working to resolve it quickly. No personal information was compromised. Uplay's PC download ...

At its simplest, pirated games are those that have been “cracked” by bypassing digital ... the lure of free content to encourage users to download malware-infested software.

If you download and install pirated PC games ... If anecdotal reports cited by Avast were any indication, the cracked games played just fine, only with an extra bit of unseen menace.