I've been doing it all my life. I've literally never paid for a software license, I don't know any better. In general, I usually download from reputable sources. Haven't had any problems so far.
That you know of. For all you know you could be infected and part of a botnet. Viruses don't open a big popup saying "haha you've been hacked!".
This line of thinking is extremely common and absolutely nonsensical. The point of a virus is to remain undetected.
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Most malware these days does things like demand bitcoin, popup ads, or upload your files to the cloud without your consent.
If I've actually unknowingly downloaded a virus, it's honestly less malevolent than the paid version.
This is a remarkable observation on the sad state of paid software. It's so sad because it's so true.
I don't mind buying software, but I do mind pretty much all DRM implementations. Even simple license checks have bitten me in the past when I had no internet access and the software just decided that time was up and it needed to verify me. Nothing fills me with rage more than software that I paid for refusing to run while I'm camping or on a plane or somewhere else without internet, for software that doesn't need any networt functionality whatsoever to operate.