Jul 29, 2020 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. BlueStacks is a safe and trustworthy app. Your PC needs a modern multi-core CPU to successfully run BlueStacks. Mac: You need macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or above, but macOS 10.13. In simpler terms, it's like a virtual Android phone running on your Mac or Windows PC. Yes, Bluestacks is completely safe to use. According to my experience in emulator Bluestacks is completely safe. Yes, Bluestacks is safe as per 370+ million users. Bluestacks is 100% safe for Windows and macOS PC. Rahul Kumar Singh. Hello friends, I am Rahul, chief editor of HubsAdda. Talking about Tech. Bloons TD 6 is a Strategy game developed by ninja kiwi. BlueStacks app player is the best platform (emulator) to play this Android game on your PC or Mac for an immersive gaming experience. Tower defense games sure are on top right now. There are hundreds of titles out there, each of them with its own peculiarities and specifications. You can use this software on both Mac and PC. It will sync all your Android device data on to your system. However, many questions arise regarding the legal nature and safety of BlueStacks. So, if you are having questions like ‘is Bluestacks safe’ or ‘is Bluestacks legal’, then you are in the right place.
Bluestacks is the most popular Android Emulator for Windows and Mac PC. But, is there something like Bluestacks for Linux available? If you are trying to find the answers to this question, this post is specially written for you. Here, I will explain if Bluestacks is available for Linux, especially Ubuntu.
Also, I will explain how to install Bluestacks on Linux using a special workaround. And, if it gets too complicated for you, what are some good alternatives to use? Everything will be covered here.
Contents
- 2 How to Install BlueStacks on Linux?
- 2.1 Step-1: Install Windows 10 on Ubuntu with VirtualBox
Is BlueStacks Available for Linux?
BlueStacks is an Android emulator that is officially available only for two operating systems, Windows and Mac. This is stated on their website. Hence, BlueStacks is NOT available for Linux officially. However, you can still install and use it on your Linux distro, Ubuntu, or any other, to run Android apps. It will allow you to test Android apps or just enjoy your favorite Android games while being able to tweak them.
Since BlueStacks doesn’t provide an official version for Linux, you must use a special workaround to install it on your Linux PC. You can’t simply visit the official website, download, and install it. Another way to run Android apps on your Linux distribution is to use the available Android emulators. There are many great BlueStacks alternatives available that you can use.
How to Install BlueStacks on Linux?
BlueStacks only provides a version for Windows and Mac. It isn’t available for Linux. So, you can’t simply install it. To use it, you first have to install Windows on your Linux by using VirtualBox, and then you can install BlueStacks on Windows.
The process may seem a bit long and complex to some users. If you are one of them, you can skip to the next method to run Android apps on Linux. The others can continue by following the instructions mentioned below.
Step-1: Install Windows 10 on Ubuntu with VirtualBox
The first thing you need to do to install BlueStacks on Linux (Ubuntu) is to install Windows 10 by using VirtualBox. I’d recommend that you do this only when you have a good spec computer or else your efforts will go in vain. So, if you have a sufficiently powerful machine, continue with these steps.
Add VirtualBox to Ubuntu repository
- Firstly, go to Start, click on Software & Updates, then click on Other Software, and then click on Button ‘Add…’
- Next, enter the following APT line in the input box, substituting <mydist> by your distribution name:
deb https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian <mydist> contrib- Now enter the password and close dialog.
Download Oracle signature
Next, you have to download Oracle public key for apt-secure. You can download it from here for Debian 8/Ubuntu 17.04 or later. You may need to right-click on the page and choose ‘Save as.’
Apply Oracle signature
After downloading Oracle public key, you have to apply the Oracle signature. To do that, go to the terminal and enter the command below: sudo apt-key add oracle_vbox_2016.asc;
If everything goes fine, you will get the following output in the terminal: OK
Install VirtualBox
Now again go to Terminal and enter the following commands:sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-5.2
Download Windows 10 ISO image
Now you have to create Windows 10 Installation media. Follow these steps in order to do that:
- Click on this link to visit Microsoft Media Creation Tool.
- Then, download the “Microsoft Media Creation Tool”
Now run the tool from a Windows computer and follow these ISO creation steps:
- Accept Terms & Condition
- Choose “Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC.”
- Choose language, architecture, and edition.
- When asked which media to use, choose “ISO file.”
- When it prompts to burn ISO on CD, click on “Finish.”
Once the “Windows.iso” file is created, move it to your Linux/Ubuntu computer. You can use a USB memory stick to do that.
6. Configure Windows 10 on VirtualBox
- Go to Start and click on Oracle VM VirtualBox to launch it.
- Next, click on New.
- Now name your OS and choose the correct OS version (32-Bit or 64-Bit).
- Next, choose memory size. You can accept the recommended amount here.
- Next, create a virtual hard disk.
- Choose a hard disk file type and choose ‘Dynamically allocated.’
- Then, accept the file location and size. You will be taken back to the main screen then.
- Now choose the OS and click on Settings.
- Go to the Storage option. Remove any optical drive that exists here.
- Click on “Adds new storage attachment” and then click on “Adds optical drive.”
- Next, click on ‘Choose disk’ from the dialog box.
- Finally, choose the ISO file that you have moved here.
Step-2: Run Windows 10
Now that you have successfully installed and configured VirtualBox on your Linux PC, and installed Windows in it, you can run Windows. Follow these simple steps:
- Choose Windows 10 OS from VirtualBox’s main screen and click on “Start.”
- Now enter the Windows registration key. You can use your existing computer’s registration key here.
- Then you will see the Windows installation screen.
- Choose the Advanced option of installing Windows and follow the on-screen prompts.
- Wait until the process is complete and then you can run Windows.
Step-3: Install BlueStacks
After setting up Windows on VirtualBox, you can easily do anything that you used to do on your Windows PC. Just like that, you can install and use BlueStacks also. Follow these steps to do that.
- Run a browser (Microsoft Edge) in Windows and visit the official BlueStacks website.
- Click on the Green Download button present in the center and the top right corner of the screen.
- Wait until it is downloaded. Once it is, click on the download .exe file and follow the on-screen instructions.
- Once BlueStacks is installed, you can set it up and use it to run any Android app or game.
That’s it. You can now use BlueStacks on your Linux computer and run Android apps and games in it.
Alternative Method: Use BlueStacks Alternatives for Linux
If the above method seems a bit long and complicated to you, we have some great BlueStacks alternatives for Linux that you can simply install and run. Using this will cut the hassle of using VirtualBox or any additional tool as these are built for Linux. So, you can directly install them.
These are all the Android Emulators for Linux that you can use instead of trying BlueStacks.
Final Words
BlueStacks is not officially available for Linux. However, you can install it on Linux by installing Windows on it with VirtualBox. But, the method is a bit lengthy and not simple. If you feel the same, I have also listed the BlueStacks alternatives for Linux that you easily use. The choice is yours.
That’s all for this post. I hope you find it helpful. If you have any doubts or suggestions about anything mentioned here, feel free to use the comment box.
BlueStacks is perhaps the most popular softwares which allows users to run Android applications on their personal computers. Currently it is available for two operating systems: Microsoft Windows and AmericaApple’s anmacOS. Using android applications on a computer can be more useful than it seems. The ability to configure your personal computer seamlessly to emulate the Android platform and run Android applications is not only a convenience but it can be used to create a cloud-based cross-platform ecosystem of devices. But, all the functionality which BlueStacks brings along with itself is accompanied by user scepticism and it all boils down to one question- Is BlueStacks Safe?
In this article we would be addressing all the general concerns associated with BlueStacks and at the end of it, also teach you how to install BlueStacks on your PC. Read along to find out more.
Is Bluestacks Safe For Mac Reddit
Contents
- 1 Is BlueStacks Really Safe?
- 2 Is BlueStacks Safe? – Conclusion
Is BlueStacks Really Safe?
The following are the general concerns which people have regarding BlueStacks. We will take one concern at a time and try and clear all the doubts.
Concern #1. Why does BlueStacks prompt to disable Antivirus
So, no denying that the BlueStacks installer asks you to disable your Antivirus when you try to install the application on your system. But the reason for this is the over-protective nature of your security suite which often prevents the BlueStacks installation from completing successfully. Several third party security applications such as McAfee and Avast detects the main BlueStacks executable file as a threat. Which, trust me is nothing but a false positive.
Concern #2. Why does BlueStacks use so much CPU memory
People have often reported that BlueStacks software often hangs and crashes while they are using them. This leads to suspicion that is BlueStacks actually being used for crypto-mining or some other illegal activity as such. But the fact that you are trying to emulate the Android environment on a computer’s operating system will obviously lead to a higher memory requirement due to the fact that they have completely different architectures. Thus a crashing or hanging of the system is actually very normal.
Concern #3. Is BlueStacks Legal?
The final concern regarding BlueStacks due to its cross-platform nature is regarding its legality. This is because using other emulators such as Nintendo or Gameboy emulators is illegal. Such emulators actually include software copies of physical games inside the system hardware ROM in order to work. This is actually a form of piracy, and hence, illegal. However, this is not the case with BlueStacks. There are two major reasons for this. One, BlueStacks has a different environment to work with. And two, Android is completely open source. You might argue that Google apps are Google’s own property. But BlueStacks actually doesn’t violate any policies.
BlueStacks even comes pre-bundled with Google Play Store. This points to an agreement between the two parties such that BlueStacks platform will be treated as any other Android device without any discrimination whatsoever.
Is BlueStacks Safe? – Conclusion
So to sum it up, we can have a definitive conclusion that Yes, Bluestacks is completely Safe. No evidence has been found regarding BlueStacks’ association with of malware, spyware or crypto-mining. BlueStacks is 100% safe. All of its security certificates are legally signed and no other secondary applications are ever bundled with the software.
How to download, install and set-up BlueStacks?
- Ony any web browser of your choice such as Edge, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox etc.
- Click on the Address bar and type “www.bluestacks.com” (without the quotes)
- Press the “Enter”.
- Select the Download BlueStacks button.
Download Bluestacks 5 For Pc Windows 10
- You will now be will navigated to the download page, and your software will downloading.
Bluestacks For Mac Big Sur
- Once download begins, you will be prompted with two options: to save the .exe file in your Downloads folder or specify a custom location for the downloaded file to be saved.
- After the download is complete, click on the BlueStacks installer .exe file.
- Now click on “Install now” button to start the installation process.
- The set up will now start to download/extract the necessary files to be installed.
- The installation may take up to 5 minutes depending on your PC and memory available.
- After the first boot is complete, you will be asked to fill a Google Sign-in form in order to add your account or you may choose to add it later.
- If you choose to add the account, type in your email address synchronised with your Google account and click on next.
- Now enter your password and hit next once more. You are good to go now.