I think I understood overall how this DeNuvo bypass works, but one thing I'm not sure about yet is the following. If I disable the security layers, play the game, then enable again those security layers, would I be as secure as I was before? Or some hidden malware might have taken the opportunity to permanently infect my PC beyond recovery?

It's absolutely possible. That's why reputable sites like FitGirl reccomend you disable the security, restart your computer, play the game, then re-enable the security, and restart again.

Don't run other shit or browse the web, minimize what you're doing and running while your security is weakened to the bare minimum. Play the game and that's it, then put things back to "safe".

As with any crack or bypass software, you shouldn't run it if you don't trust the source. These hypervisor bypasses are really for special cases where you absolutely can't wait for a traditional crack.

I'd argue personally that you can always just wait.

Now the actual likelyhood of anything taking advantage and being able to deeply persist once you turn the security settings back on? Can't really say. I would assume the chance is unlikely, but that's not based off of fucking anything substantial.

There are 2 very informative threads on cs rin ru (search for "Hypervisor cracks"), read them and then decide if it's worth it.

What games are you planning to play? Are they worth the risk?

Probably Crimson Desert. That's the big new release with this bypass. It does cost a lot, so I guess some people could be desperate enough to try this. Personally I'd just wait for a sale or a safer alternative.

If you're a pirate I always recommend keeping your gaming/media PC dedicated to only that and do other work stuff on another computer. That way even if you catch malware or viruses it can't harm any important stuff.

Proxmox --> GPU passthrough --> Gaming VM

Don't log into anything while you're playing the game.

You have a spare 3070, ryzen 7800x3d and 16gb (preferably 32gb) on you?
Because I don't.
And sailing the seas for cracks (to me) suggest they arent the kind of game to cost <10€ (or <20€) but instead more like >30€

And those DRMs are probably looking if the system is virtualized so not a do-it-all gaming VM either.

What's the GPU have to do with proper sandboxing of a crack? Or are you just being opinionated and offering unsolicited advice?

Also the DRM absolutely has no fucking clue if it's running in a qemu or on a spinning rust IDE SCSI from 1992.

Lastly the whole point of a bypass crack is that the DRM is bypassed... it's being told what system it's running on.

that's not based off of fucking anything substantial.

Dr. Crusher, I presume.

https://torrentfreak.com/game-pirates-beat-denuvo-with-hypervisor-bypasses-irdeto-promises-countermeasure/

Case in point...

Haven't kept up with the scene, but afaik there are no groups making traditional cracks for denuvo games anymore, right?

Last I heard was a person called voices38 or something beginning to work on denuvo cracks, but haven't heard anything about them in years