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tips on how to tell if a game virus or not?

A topic by Cheesecake Mermaid created Apr 11, 2024 Views: 2,202 Replies: 9
Viewing posts 1 to 5
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I want download some games but I am paranoids that I will get a virus. Even from seemly popular games,it could all be faked...I am not sure what to do.I love playing games but I really dont want to get a virus

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You do very well. If something makes you suspicious, then it is best not to download that game.

Some alternatives are to try https://virusscan.jotti.org/
You upload the executable and it scans it with different antiviruses.


It is also recommended to use virtual environments, that way if the game has a virus, it cannot infect or cause damage to your computer.


There are several posts that give recommendations, for example this one:
https://itch.io/t/3040890/how-likely-is-it-to-get-a-virus-from-downloading-somet...

Okie doki, thanks for advice. I am still paranoid but I feel bit more reassured...

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It helps if the project is also available on major marketplaces, specifically Steam, Google Play, Apple store, etc as these places are more strict about uploads.

If there is something specific you are worried about it, you could ask if anyone else has tried it :P

I will do that too,I am just scared of downloading a game that seem interesting and just wreck my computer.I am even considering to stick to browser games instead since the risk seem very high

This only helps, if the other marketplace (or patreon or twitter or whatever) links to the exact same itch account.

They do impersonate the original creators.

So actually, if you see shiny new game on Steam and shiny new game on Itch ... that does not mean that the Itch version is safe, this means, there is a chance, that the itch account is faking it. Especially if you see a paid Steam game here for free... ;-)

Right, but I mean they could then download it from the safer store instead

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I am not sure what to do

Sandboxing.

Or as it is called above, virtual environment. The itch app provides a lite version of such a technqiue. The game runs as a different user, so it has no read access to your main windows account's files. At least not with some exploits and those exploits are what would make the malware more easily detectable.

To point to the elephant in the room, if we  were to spell out exaclty how to spot malware, the scammers would take note and adjust accordingly. The vast majority of players does not read here, but the scammers might.

There are some general tips in the psa about try my game on discord scams. https://itch.io/t/1659440/psa-beware-the-try-my-game-scam

Yeah,I heard about those, and I plan to stay away from them .Anyway, thanks for the help. I will make sure to keep an eye out for any suspicious games and do my research before downloading them.

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