Quick Navigation

• 1 Download and Install BlueStacks for PC
• 2 How to install APK files using BlueStacks

Android and iOS have a variety of applications and games which are totally worth running and playing. At times, these applications are not fun playing on a smaller screen i.e. the screen of a smartphone or a tablet. You want to play these games on a bigger screen, but these are not available for an operating system of a computer. What to do in such a case? Well, BlueStacks is there to solve this problem for you.

Step 1: Open the web browser on your Windows PC, go to the official web page of BlueStacks (www.bluestacks.com). Step 2: On the official web page of BlueStacks, you have to click on the Download BlueStacks button. Click Download BlueStacks. Step 3: With this, bluestacks.exe file will be downloaded. Click on it to open BlueStacks on Windows PC.

1. Get started with BlueStacks on Mac. Release Notes for BlueStacks for macOS. How to download and install BlueStacks for macOS. System specifications for installing BlueStacks on macOS. How to use BlueStacks on macOS 11 Big Sur. How to install an app on BlueStacks for macOS. How can I report a problem on BlueStacks.
2. BlueStacks App Player Download for free 2020. Best Android Emulator to Install and use your favourite android apps/games on your PC Windows and Mac OS.
3. Access official website and click one of the “ Download BlueStacks ” buttons, as shown below. BlueStacks Installer will now automatically start download. Once it’s downloaded to your Mac, double-click it. The BlueStacks Installer should now be opened. Here, double click BlueStacks icon to start the installation process.

BlueStacks does not only allow you to run your favorite Android and iOS Apps and Games on your computer, it also takes off all the limitations. At times, your smartphone runs out of storage, sometimes it’s not compatible with an application and at times, your phone’s battery betrays you. BlueStacks takes care of all these matters. With this app player, you will not face any such issues since it runs on your computer.

BlueStacks is basically an Android emulator. It runs a virtual Android tablet on your computer. To play a game, you can use the mouse and keyboard attached to your computer. 90% of the times, an application which is available for iOS, is also available for Android. So this means you can run any application in BlueStacks using its APK file or by installing through the Google Play Store.

BlueStacks is available for Windows and Mac OS. The new versions of BlueStacks, which are BlueStacks 2 and BlueStacks 3, are available only for Windows. You can get BlueStacks for the MacOS and Mac OS X. Here’s how to download and install BlueStacks for PC on Windows and MacOS/Mac OS X.

• BlueStacks 3 is also available, Windows users can have a look at BlueStacks 3 guide instead.

Download and Install BlueStacks for PC

How to install BlueStacks and then run Apps for PC in BlueStacks on Windows and Mac

1. Download BlueStacks offline installer for Windows | BlueStacks for Mac.
2. Run the offline installer and install BlueStacks.
3. After the installation procedure ends, open BlueStacks.
4. Configure BlueStacks now by following the on-screen instructions.
5. On the BlueStacks home-screen, click on All Apps.
6. Under All Apps, click on Settings > Manage Accounts > Google
7. Login into the BlueStacks using your Google Account. This is essential since you want to run the Google Play Store.
8. Once you are done setting up Google Account, BlueStacks will take you back to the home screen.
9. Now click on the Search button appearing in the very first row of the BlueStacks home-screen.
10. Type the name of the application or game that you want to search. Now click on the “Search using Play Store” button.
11. Install the application using Google Play Store. It will appear under All Apps after the installation comes to an end. You can now open it, the controls will pop-up on the screen. You can start playing or running your favorite Android/iOS apps on your computer now. That’s all.

How to install APK files using BlueStacks

1. Download the APK file of your desired game or application using a credible online source.
2. Make sure that you have installed and setup BlueStacks app player.
3. Now double-click on your downloaded APK file.
4. The APK file will begin installing via BlueStacks.
5. Let BlueStacks finish the installation. Once done, open BlueStacks.
6. Your newly installed application will appear under the All Apps section in BlueStacks. That’s all.

Conclusion

So that’s how we installed and configured BlueStacks on a computer powered up with Windows. BlueStacks will work smoothly on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, MacOS and Mac OS X powered desktop PCs and Laptops. The smoothness and performance of the BlueStacks will definitely depend on the hardware of your computer. The latest your hardware is, the smoother BlueStacks will be. Keeping apart these requirements, BlueStacks is one of the greatest sources to run the smartphone applications on a computer. If you have BlueStacks, you do not need to push your smartphone to its limits.

In case you have got any queries, reach us out through the comments section.

BlueStacks is unquestionable, one of the most appreciated Android emulators out there, a fact is proven by its 400+ million user community. Although BlueStacks was designed for gaming, it’s also being used to test new Android apps before they’re published on Google’s Play Store – easier to test an app inside an IDE than downloading it on your smartphone. BlueStacks came out in the odd 2009 and, at that time, it had, more or less the same ‘legal status’ as Citra, Snes9x, or other Super Nintendo emulators – borderline legitimate.

Later on, that status became less cloudy, particularly because Android is (semi) open-source (i.e., some costs may apply to manufacturers who want to install Google Mobile services). For a while now, people have been wondering about the security aspects of this Android virtualization environment.

Is BlueStacks Safe? Well, since this is an Android emulator, BlueStacks may have had inherited the same security flaws as its mobile counterpart. In this article, I will be challenging the latter statement for the purpose of ‘round-tabling’ the cybersecurity concerns associated with using BlueStacks for anything from QAing to developing full-fledged, mobile-friendly applications. Enjoy and stay safe!

What is BlueStacks and how do you install it?

As I was saying in the intro, BlueStacks is a free Android emulator best suited for those who prefer mobile gaming without actually gaming on a mobile device. BlueStacks can be deployed on any Windows or Mac-compatible machine and has the same looks (and feel) as the real McCoy.

The emulator has many game-ready features such as mouse + keyboard tailor controls (e.g., MOBA mode, shooting mode, macros, etc.), multi-instance (i.e., allows you to run multiple apps at once), and eco mode, which helps you harmonize system resources while running multiple BlueStacks instances at the same time.

The latest version of BlueStacks (v4) comes with various pre-installed applications such as Google Play Store, Gmail, a file explorer that allows you to load custom (and often unsigned) .apk files, and much more. In other words, BlueStacks is the proverbial one-stop-shop for developers and users alike who want to enjoy the wholesomeness of Android without necessarily owning an Android device.

BlueStacks does not require special permissions in order to be deployed on a machine, provided that you’re running in admin mode. Just download the .msi package from BlueStacks’ official website and execute it on your machine. Additional configuration is not necessary with version 4 – every utility’s preloaded so, at this point, the only thing you’ll need to figure out is how you’re going to use it.

Personally, BlueStacks is a great addition to any virtualization software and, by far, the most stable. Sure, you can virtualize Android with just about any emulator you can get your hands on, but don’t expect performance.

I still have a hard time believing that Oracle’s VirtualBox, although capable of running dozens of emulated operating systems, still glitches when you try to run Android – and yes, I did ramp up the cores and RAM dials, but to no avail. Anyway, BlueStacks has been sufficiently well optimized as to allow both gamers and developers to reap its benefits. Yes, this Android emulator can be used for things like debugging, testing, patching, and everything in between. Developers tend to use BlueStacks in conjunction with some form of specialized IDE such as Eclipse.

No doubt, a very interesting piece of software and to think that this project was started simply because game players wanted to add that keyboard + mouse soft-touch to their Android experience.

Summing up: BlueStacks is open-source gaming and debugging Android emulator. It sports all kinds of cool features, from customizable gaming modes to DevOps tools. Now that we have this out of the way, let’s discuss about the cybersecurity concerns looming around this Android emulator. So, is BlueStacks safe?

Addressing Cybersecurity Concerns of Android Emulation Software

A quick Google search BlueStacks’ security concerns render some pretty interesting, if not confusing, results. Most of the websites I’ve consulted in order to piece this article together have the same ‘lighthearted’ conclusion – sure, your AV might flag the .msi package as malicious, but BlueStacks is 100% safe. And, my favorite – BlueStacks wants to mess around with your UAC policy. Sure, allow it; what’s the worse that could happen? The team behind the evergreen Android emulator put a lot of ‘elbow grease’ in order to plug all the security holes. Naturally, v4 of BlueStacks is far more secure compared to its predecessors.

CVE-2019-12936: IPC Misconfig

Now, in 2019, Nick Cano, a cybersecurity researcher, and ethical hacker, came knocking on BlueStacks’ door saying that the app has some major issues. One of these issues, which was nicknamed CVE-2019-12936, popped up in or around April 2019. With a severity score of 7.1 on the CVSS scale, this vulnerability, which was thoroughly documented by NIST, proved that BlueStacks was prone to cross-scripting via a defective IPC mechanism & interface which had no auth functions enabled.

More specifically, using DNS Rebinding, the victim’s machine would start attacking targets on the same network. This vulnerability would have also allowed for REC (i.e., remote execution of code), lading to data leaks, backup theft, and other mishaps. No incidents were reported prior to Cano blowing the whistle on BlueStacks. One thing I forgot to mention: this vulnerability was discovered in versions lower than 4.0. BlueStacks’ latest build (4.90.0.1046) removed this vulnerability. So, if you’re still running older versions of BlueStacks, I strongly recommend updating your app ASAP.

CVE-2016-4288: Random code execution with system privileges

Thought that CVE-2019-1936 was the only vulnerability found in BlueStacks? Think again. In 2017, CVE-2016-4288 was published. The entry documented BlueStacks’ App Player local privilege vulnerability due to the creation of a Windows registry key with suboptimal protection. More specifically, the emulator’s App player would create a registry key that required very little permissions. This vulnerability would, in turn, allow a threat actor to execute random code with system privileges. CVE-2016-4288 would have affected version 2.1.3.5650 of the product or earlier versions.

Bluestacks Mac Security Settings Download

CVE-2018-0701: Gain unauthorized access on the same network segment

Discovered in November 2018, this vulnerability would have allowed a threat actor to bypass normal restriction in order to gain access to resources hosted on a machine or network. As the CVE entry shows, the vulnerability was associated with the BlueStacks App player and affected Windows versions 3.0. through 4.31.55, as well as the second version Mac version of the emulator. The issue, which was flagged as “resolved” in the latest version of BlueStacks, would have allowed an attacker operating on the same network segment as the victim’s endpoint to gain unauthorized access.

CVE-2019-14220: Read unauthorized file by setting file name as a parameter in system service call

Earmarked in 2019, CVE-2019-14220 refers to a vulnerability that could be used to gain read-type access to an authorized file. This vulnerability’s been tied to a “local arbitrary file read through a system service call” and when executed with System admin privileges could have granted the threat actor access to an authorized file if the said file name was used as a parameter. CVE-2019-14220 affected versions 4.110 and 4.120 of BlueStacks. The vulnerability seems to have found its fix in the latest version of BlueStacks.

BlueStacks for Enterprise – Cybersecurity concerns

Software emulation solutions such as BlueStacks or even Oracle’s VirtualBox are open-source – free to use, deploy, expand, alter, etc. However, some of their more ‘advanced’ features are locked behind a pay-to-use wall. Haven’t heard about a corporate version of VirtualBox, but BlueStacks does have an enterprise plan and this exactly what we’re going to talk about in this section.

So, why should you choose BlueStacks Pro/Enterprise over the regular one? Well, getting rid of repetitive ads would be a nice change of pace. Also, the enterprise version of BlueStacks has other cool features in stock such as improved performance, a couple of tweaks that lower your bandwidth usage, the SDK, 24/7 support, disable pre-loaded content, and much more. So, should you go premium?

Is BlueStacks safe in its premium form? Yes, it is. As I’ve mentioned in the section concerning BlueStacks’ past issues, all of the (discovered) vulnerabilities have been successfully resolved, making BlueStacks for business as safe as Fort Knox’s gold vault. Wouldn’t go that far, but it’s pretty secure as it is. Now, putting aside BlueStacks’ known issues, the only thing left now to tackle would be the security problems that may arise when running emulators on your machine. And, as it happens, most of them are related to the type of application you run in said environment.

Google’s Play Store is the Eldorado of Android applications – music, video, photo-editing, ethical hacking, code-learning, code implementation, testing, debugging; there’s an application for everyone and every need. However, hidden inside this treasure trove of unspeakable usefulness are some apps that you wouldn’t want on your machine, regardless if it’s physical, virtual, or container.

Unfortunately, Google’s having a very hard time policing the Play Store for malicious apps masquerading as legit ones. So, what happens if you come across such an app while messing around in your BlueStacks-emulated Play Store? Worst case scenario – you break the virtual machine and start the VM configuration process from scratch. The nightmarish scenarios – nothing happens to the emulator, but the malicious code claws out of the sandbox and infects your host.

Now, based on the malware creator’s TTPs, this jailbreaking piece of code can do anything from zombifying (botnet) your machine to using it as a launchpad in an attempt to cash in as many goodies (assets) as possible. On the topic of assets, the first thing they teach you in any CND (certified network defender) class is that the word “asset” is spelled with dollar signs (a$$et) instead of a double-s – you lose your assets, you lose your business. That’s it, game over, and there’s nothing more to be done.

So, pay extra attention when deploying tools on your BlueStacks machine. Look for anything that could question the legitimacy of the app: grammatical errors, spelling issues, no info about the developer, fake and repetitive feedback, and, ultimately, the app’s requested permissions. Use common sense on that one: if an app you’ve just downloaded, say a portable Java system properties library asks permission to access your address book or to make phone calls, then it’s definitely malware.

Bluestacks On Mac M1

Parting thoughts and extra security tips

Is BlueStacks safe? I wouldn’t say 100% because that would imply that the emulator might have some sort of safeguards in place for the worst cyber-threat out there – the human factor. The app itself is as secure as any open-source virtualization software out there, but won’t do you any good if you execute malicious apps on it. As I’ve said, time and time again, common sense is the panacea of cybersecurity – no matter what you work on or what resource you’re trying to access, you should pay attention to the context. It’s as simple as that.

As to the extra protection bit, I wholeheartedly encourage you to deploy an antimalware solution on your machine, especially when you’re experimenting with things like BlueStacks.

Bluestacks Mac Security Settings

Heimdal™ Security’s Next-Generation Antivirus & MDM is more than capable of dealing with anything that could try and claw its way out of your VM’s sandbox.

To end this article on a lighter note, if this is your first encounter with BlueStacks, do yourself a favor and play a couple of PUBG rounds or something before working on your projects. There’s no better way of testing this kind of software. As always, stay safe, and don’t forget to shoot me a comment if you have any questions about the app or topic.

Bluestacks Mac Security Settings Free