Well, I just nearly got a virus on moddb. Thread

I thought MODDB was a pretty secure site, however. When using avast, and I went into moddb, one of those ads on the right little boxes and such, had a virus on it. Luckily my virus scanner aborted the connection to the add, so Moddb. Whats up with allowing these type of ads?

They are not virus's its just your virus scanner being over anal. In the last 8 years of moddb we have only had one or two cases of virus's.

Edited by: lodle

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Depends on the files considered as viruses by your virus scanner. Some of virus scanners consider e.g. Texmod's (a texture replacement tools) as viruses, since they put custom textures in place of original files (i.e. not exactly, just redirect the program to other file paths / replace the code itself, AFAIK).

TexMod injects the textures into the game to replace the original, thats how i got it explained
also, remember that false positives exist. Look at game trainers (the ones to cheat :p) for example, some scanners warn that they are keyloggers, but how else will the trainer detect what keys you are pressing when it doesn't have focus?
another thing, the ads that come on moddb come from a different company, moddb just displays them for revenue but moddb does not choose wich ads get displayed

keep the first 2 things in mind for when you get a warning (wich is probably a false positive, or something not THAT bad, like a tracking cookie) and if you want to blame someone, keep the last thing in mind and don't blame moddb, but the ad company

Feillyne wrote: Depends on the files considered as viruses by your virus scanner. Some of virus scanners consider e.g. Texmod's (a texture replacement tools) as viruses, since they put custom textures in place of original files (i.e. not exactly, just redirect the program to other file paths / replace the code itself, AFAIK).

Well stated. That simple fact is the reason for nearly all false positives IMO.
There's no reason to panic everytime your security software tosses up a red flag ( especially on a reputable site like this one ).

I see your point Sigma. I am a bit overly protective on my computer, but its better to be safe than sorry so I brought it to the attention to the forums. /offtopic
There has been so many weird adds for moddb lately(don't know if its random generated or what)I mean, toothpaste and such on a gaming website is a bit odd.

Firesprayer wrote: I see your point Sigma. I am a bit overly protective on my computer, but its better to be safe than sorry so I brought it to the attention to the forums. /offtopic
There has been so many weird adds for moddb lately(don't know if its random generated or what)I mean, toothpaste and such on a gaming website is a bit odd.

moddb only displays them, its another company that provides them, we have no control over what ads are shown
you shouldn't be overly protective of your computer, i mean, as long as you have your sensitive data backed up then there shouldn't be a problem since its "only" a reinstall of windows when needed
i haven't installed a virusscanner for the past 4 years (or more) and i never had a virus (people actualy lost bets to me because they thought it was full of viruses :p)
and besides, if you browse the internet using firefox, then the chances of getting a virus trough a website are pretty slim

Edited by: Arxae

I've never seen anything remotely related to a virus, malware or tracker from ModDB or Desura. Perhaps a reality modification is in order, it's just a machine. Sigma states the the # 1 cardinal rule; Backup !!

jjawinte wrote: I've never seen anything remotely related to a virus, malware or tracker from ModDB or Desura. Perhaps a reality modification is in order, it's just a machine. Sigma states the the # 1 cardinal rule; Backup !!

actualy that is my number 3 rule or so :p the other ones being pay attention and organize..altho i fail at that last one >_>

You should always be careful, but this is usually just virus scanners not liking advertising cookies. I've been browsing ModDB everyday for 8 years now and never got a virus on the site, so if you see anything suspicious, please screenshot it and email it to support@moddb.com