Is it safe to download mods from Steam workshop?

[Chuddly]

This is probably an idiotic question, but are there any potential security risks to downloading mods on Steam? One of the great things touted about PC gaming is the ability to use mods.. But ever since building one, I've been to uncomfortable with the idea of accidentally downloading something bad alongside the mod.
Is this fear justified or irrational?
Thank you.

[ShadoWwolF]

most mods from reputable sources are going to be fine. steam workshop or sites like moddb and other popular mod sites. if some guy just gives you a shady download link and says to try his new mod though that may not always be safe but generally you shouldnt worry too much as long as you use common sense when downloading things. you could always download mods directly from the paradox forums too

[Fleeting_dreams]

I would be amazed if you got a virus from anything steam related

[Varainger]

Probably safer then surfing the internet and experiencing evil scripts on some websites.

[Skullever]

You're more likely to get something bad through your e-mail than through Steam Workshop. Though in this case a letter from a Nigerian prince at least has a slight chance of being real.

[Chuddly]

Thank you all for your kind and reassuring replies. A lot of the CKII mods look incredible, such as the one that allows you to start off as and play as a mercenary.

[Varainger]

Mrcanehdian eredeti hozzászólása:

Thank you all for your kind and reassuring replies. A lot of the CKII mods look incredible, such as the one that allows you to start off as and play as a mercenary.

Be aware that a lot of them are not working with the current version.
Compatibility is an issue.

Additional info.
You might probably need to check "Enable cloud synchronisation" in Steam settings and in properties of the game to make mods to download correctly.
You have to start a game fresh aftet subscribing for it to work.
Many mods require certain DLCs to work properly.
The Steam launcher only recognises up to 50 mods, not more.

Also check the modifications(mods) subforum on the official forum
(need an account and to register your base game with CD key for access).
Many great mods have their own subforums there.

[Chuddly]

Varainger eredeti hozzászólása:

Mrcanehdian eredeti hozzászólása:

Thank you all for your kind and reassuring replies. A lot of the CKII mods look incredible, such as the one that allows you to start off as and play as a mercenary.

Be aware that a lot of them are not working with the current version.
Compatibility is an issue.

Additional info.
You might probably need to check "Enable cloud synchronisation" in Steam settings and in properties of the game to make mods to download correctly.
You have to start a game fresh aftet subscribing for it to work.
Many mods require certain DLCs to work properly.
The Steam launcher only recognises up to 50 mods, not more.

Also check the modifications(mods) subforum on the official forum
(need an account and to register your base game with CD key for access).
Many great mods have their own subforums there.

Thank you so much! I will be referencing this comment in the future. I'm kind of surprised Steam has a limit to the number of mods one can use. I'm sure they have their reasons, but I have heard of people boasting about using 200 or more mods at once in Skyrim.

[Varainger]

Mrcanehdian eredeti hozzászólása:

.........I'm sure they have their reasons, but I have heard of people boasting about using 200 or more mods at once in Skyrim.

Well its the case for CK2 and the Steam workshop, no matter what other games do.
You can use more than 50 manually, but the workshop won't download new mods afterwards.
That's just how it is. No idea why.

[happy]

i did once get a virus alert from a link i had found on steam forums

it was not some obscure mod link recommended by some shady guy, it was the link a lot of steam users used to get the mod, it seemed ok

the mod was the most popular mod for the game, a simple portrait pack(free weekend of football manager 2015, not an indy game by far) but the link was not an official mod site(moddb, nexus)

so what happened? nothing, i got a virus alert, thats what antiviruses are for, as i am a particularly brilliant person, i did something very innovative: i trusted my antivirus and didn t download the mod

all this just to tell you OP that being on the internet is not riskfree, but it is not a jungle either, i ve downloaded hundreds of mods, i only had an alert on probably the most popular game in the world(which is probably why the virus was there: lots of people candid enough to be infected) on an "unofficial" mod site

ck2 is a bad game if you want to spread a virus, it s not a big AAA title kids want for christmas and it certainly is less popular than a footballthingie

fear not the internet, just have an antivirus and common sense, get your mods from moddb, steam workshop and nexus and you shall live happily ever after

[EmotionallyBroken]

How many of you replying actually have any programming experience at all or know anything about OS mechanics?

[Chuddly]

Varainger eredeti hozzászólása:

Mrcanehdian eredeti hozzászólása:

.........I'm sure they have their reasons, but I have heard of people boasting about using 200 or more mods at once in Skyrim.

Well its the case for CK2 and the Steam workshop, no matter what other games do.
You can use more than 50 manually, but the workshop won't download new mods afterwards.
That's just how it is. No idea why.

That's fine, 50 is a lot. I'd be more than satisfied with that.

[Chuddly]

happy eredeti hozzászólása:

i did once get a virus alert from a link i had found on steam forums

it was not some obscure mod link recommended by some shady guy, it was the link a lot of steam users used to get the mod, it seemed ok

the mod was the most popular mod for the game, a simple portrait pack(free weekend of football manager 2015, not an indy game by far) but the link was not an official mod site(moddb, nexus)

so what happened? nothing, i got a virus alert, thats what antiviruses are for, as i am a particularly brilliant person, i did something very innovative: i trusted my antivirus and didn t download the mod

all this just to tell you OP that being on the internet is not riskfree, but it is not a jungle either, i ve downloaded hundreds of mods, i only had an alert on probably the most popular game in the world(which is probably why the virus was there: lots of people candid enough to be infected) on an "unofficial" mod site

ck2 is a bad game if you want to spread a virus, it s not a big AAA title kids want for christmas and it certainly is less popular than a footballthingie

fear not the internet, just have an antivirus and common sense, get your mods from moddb, steam workshop and nexus and you shall live happily ever after

So even though it's on something as reputable as Steam, be careful and aware is what you're saying? That does make sense, perhaps I'll double check any mods I may like to download to see if they are on nexus or moddb and look for positive/negative feedback from users.

That's great, thank you. And CKII does seem to be a bit obscure, I'm the only person I know who has ever heard about it other than me telling them how amazing and addictive it is. I can't even play Civ 5 much anymore because it doesn't have even half the depth this game does.

[Skullever]

Mrcanehdian eredeti hozzászólása:

happy eredeti hozzászólása:

i did once get a virus alert from a link i had found on steam forums

it was not some obscure mod link recommended by some shady guy, it was the link a lot of steam users used to get the mod, it seemed ok

the mod was the most popular mod for the game, a simple portrait pack(free weekend of football manager 2015, not an indy game by far) but the link was not an official mod site(moddb, nexus)

so what happened? nothing, i got a virus alert, thats what antiviruses are for, as i am a particularly brilliant person, i did something very innovative: i trusted my antivirus and didn t download the mod

all this just to tell you OP that being on the internet is not riskfree, but it is not a jungle either, i ve downloaded hundreds of mods, i only had an alert on probably the most popular game in the world(which is probably why the virus was there: lots of people candid enough to be infected) on an "unofficial" mod site

ck2 is a bad game if you want to spread a virus, it s not a big AAA title kids want for christmas and it certainly is less popular than a footballthingie

fear not the internet, just have an antivirus and common sense, get your mods from moddb, steam workshop and nexus and you shall live happily ever after

So even though it's on something as reputable as Steam, be careful and aware is what you're saying? That does make sense, perhaps I'll double check any mods I may like to download to see if they are on nexus or moddb and look for positive/negative feedback from users.

That's great, thank you. And CKII does seem to be a bit obscure, I'm the only person I know who has ever heard about it other than me telling them how amazing and addictive it is. I can't even play Civ 5 much anymore because it doesn't have even half the depth this game does.

If you don't use the Paradox Forums[forum.paradoxplaza.com] I highly recommend going there to look for mods too, a lot of mods that can be found there don't host versions on the Workshop due to limitations and occasional issues. If you've never been there before you have to register your CD key before you can browse anything. Most mods host files through mediafire and sites like that, though recently the forum added an on-site hosting feature. Be aware when using hosting sites though, I work on the Middle Earth Project and our last update was hosted through Sendspace and we got a lot of reports of anti-virus services freaking out because people were clicking the ads that pose as a download button instead of the download itself. Most mods shouldn't have this issue, but just be aware if you plan to download from the forums at any point.

[Chuddly]

Skullever eredeti hozzászólása:

Mrcanehdian eredeti hozzászólása:

So even though it's on something as reputable as Steam, be careful and aware is what you're saying? That does make sense, perhaps I'll double check any mods I may like to download to see if they are on nexus or moddb and look for positive/negative feedback from users.

That's great, thank you. And CKII does seem to be a bit obscure, I'm the only person I know who has ever heard about it other than me telling them how amazing and addictive it is. I can't even play Civ 5 much anymore because it doesn't have even half the depth this game does.

If you don't use the Paradox Forums[forum.paradoxplaza.com] I highly recommend going there to look for mods too, a lot of mods that can be found there don't host versions on the Workshop due to limitations and occasional issues. If you've never been there before you have to register your CD key before you can browse anything. Most mods host files through mediafire and sites like that, though recently the forum added an on-site hosting feature. Be aware when using hosting sites though, I work on the Middle Earth Project and our last update was hosted through Sendspace and we got a lot of reports of anti-virus services freaking out because people were clicking the ads that pose as a download button instead of the download itself. Most mods shouldn't have this issue, but just be aware if you plan to download from the forums at any point.

I will, thank you for the adivce. A Middle Earth mod for CKII sounds incredible!

[Chuddly]

Skullever eredeti hozzászólása:

Mrcanehdian eredeti hozzászólása:

So even though it's on something as reputable as Steam, be careful and aware is what you're saying? That does make sense, perhaps I'll double check any mods I may like to download to see if they are on nexus or moddb and look for positive/negative feedback from users.

That's great, thank you. And CKII does seem to be a bit obscure, I'm the only person I know who has ever heard about it other than me telling them how amazing and addictive it is. I can't even play Civ 5 much anymore because it doesn't have even half the depth this game does.

If you don't use the Paradox Forums[forum.paradoxplaza.com] I highly recommend going there to look for mods too, a lot of mods that can be found there don't host versions on the Workshop due to limitations and occasional issues. If you've never been there before you have to register your CD key before you can browse anything. Most mods host files through mediafire and sites like that, though recently the forum added an on-site hosting feature. Be aware when using hosting sites though, I work on the Middle Earth Project and our last update was hosted through Sendspace and we got a lot of reports of anti-virus services freaking out because people were clicking the ads that pose as a download button instead of the download itself. Most mods shouldn't have this issue, but just be aware if you plan to download from the forums at any point.

That Middle Earth mod is actually incredibly exciting sounding. Would it involve other races and full immersion into Tolkien's world?