The first part that is installed is not the Nero AI Image Upscaler program. It is to set up an account first, called the Nero Platinum Suite. At the end, a dialog will inform you that Installation of Nero Start complete.
You will be prompted to enter your e-mail address. A password will be sent to your e-mail address. You will then be prompted to enter that password to confirm your e-mail address is correct. After the password sent to your e-mail has been entered, the program asks for the Activation code, which is the same as the “License key” received from SoS when the first program of this catastrophe was downloaded. The License key/Activation code activates whatever program you have purchased/received, and for this case, the AI Image Upscaler program. When you enter the License key you will see below the field Nero AI Image Upscaler 365. Clicking the Activate Now green button brings up small overlay informing you that you are about to activate your software (Nero AI Image Upscaler 365) and to connect it to your account. That small overlay also has a green “Activate Now” button. After clicking the button, you will be informed “Your software has been unlocked successfully!”
The next screen will inform you that you are signed in to Nero Start. That window also shows the default location on your system where the NERO software will be installed, and also gives the user the ability to change it. The Green “Get Started” button will start an install. Depending on what type of Antimalware you have installed, you may get a warning that it blocked a process because it is malicious or used by malware. The process and status is shown to be POWERSHELL get-appxpackage-name NeroAG.NeroCDRipper | select-expandproperty Status. If you allow the software to install, you will get another message informing you a process was blocked because it is malicious or used by malware. That process is shown as POWERSHELL get-appxpackage-name NeroAG.Nero360VR … Then a third interception shows that the name is POWERSHELL get-appxpackage-name NeroAG.BlurFace-MotionTrackingVideoEditor …
I’m not sure why these processes need to be executed because the user is installing a graphics/photo enlarger program (nothing to do with a CD Ripper or the other thing, and I am not sure about the BlurFace entry). Regardless, NERO should know which of its install processes can be identified as malicious, and therefore should be changed to a solution that the user will not have to deal with as malicious. Also during the process of attempting to install this software, there are some attempts to get your browser to display a page on Nero’s website, however the pages referenced are not secure pages (not https), and you will likely get a warning to not proceed and an option to get you “Back to Safety”. Nero clearly has an SSL certificate to ensure all pages forced onto users are secure, so the conclusion is that NERO is intentionally attempting to force malicious software onto the user. Why NERO?
Once past all the malicious intrusions, the Nero Start programs (currently version 25.5.81.0) displays a list of all of the Nero programs, row after row. Nero AI Image Upscaler is at the top of the list. On the far right of each program in the list, the button labeled “Install” must be used to install the specific program you activated (in this case Nero AI Image Upscaler).
When I clicked on Install at the far right for Nero AI Image Upscaler, the label switched to “Installing … 0%” for a brief moment, then returns to the status before as if the program can be installed (the button returns to Install). The Nero AI Image Upscaler program is not installed. Obviously, something went wrong but Nero does not inform the user/customer what the problem is. Without a way to diagnose the issue, the user is left hanging.