UNBLOCK all .dll without mods

[..::sSkIzOo::..]

Hi all,

Those of you who have already installed mods know that on win7 the dlls are blocked by windows, which results in crashing the game after clicking on "PLAY".

Of course there are mods popping up all over the place to "UNBLOCK" these dlls, but there is also a very simple way, without downloading anything.


To do this, just do:

• Go to the start menu
  
• Go to "Run..."
  
• Type the command gpedit.msc and hit enter
  
• In the window that has opened, on the left, click on "Administrative template" in the "User configuration" category.
  
• In the right part now, double-click on "Windows Component" then,
  
• Double-click on "Attachment manager" then,
  
• Double-click on "Do not preserve zone information in file attachments"
  
• In the window that opened, at the top left there are three buttons (Not configured / Enabled / Disabled)
  
• Select "Enabled" then at the bottom click on "Apply" then "OK"
  
• Close all windows and now the dlls are automatically unlocked.

/!\ This tip works ONLY with news mods downloaded !

[Old man Stu]

I am on Win 10 and tried to use a mod that lets you recruit Tier 5 and above prisoners.

It said if it doesn't work go and unblock .dll .. well, I clicked on the file properties and I do not see the pictured section that the modder showed at all. No check box for privacy.

Now even though the mod folder is in exactly the right place it does not show up as a selectable mod on the loading screen.

[Operation40]

this deserves a bump

My solution was slightly different than OP. I put a file "unblockdlls.ps1" in my "Modules" folder

dir -Path . -Recurse | Unblock-File

this unblocks all dlls recursively from the folder you run it. After I manually download a new mod, I just right-click, click "run" on that file.

OP solution is fine, but I think it unblocks ALL downloaded dlls, everywhere... probably fine, but just somethign to be aware of.

[Carson]

Thank you Operation40. This is by far the optimal solution until there is one built in.

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Operation40:

...
OP solution is fine, but I think it unblocks ALL downloaded dlls, everywhere... probably fine, but just somethign to be aware of.

Most definitely NOT FINE.

Good gosh, the amount of self-nuking of one's security some gamers will go to in order to get their "bewbz mod-lols" working...

If you are willing to issue system commands in order to unfetter .dll files you've d'loaded from the interwebz, you may as well just go ahead and delete your system and take up knitting - You're too dangerous to allow near a computer and likely to self-harm your system....

Do. Not. Do. The. Things. Described. In. This. Thread.

You have been warned.

[Operation40]

things aren't like they used to be.

Neither solution here allows "unfettered" access to your system. Malicious DLL's would still need to run as admin to do any system changes. For that matter they still need to run, since DLL's aren't executables themselves -- you can't exactly double-click them. Also, keep in mind, this "block" feature isn't even enabled by default on all version of windows.

I've issued the challenge before elsewhere, but I'll put it here again - put your your code where your mouth is - make me a malicious DLL! I'll load it into bannerlord and we'll see what happens. We could also upload it to nexus and see if their scan finds it (they scan all uploads). Thousands of people use mods on Nexus everyday. DLL's are allowed on Steam Workshop which btw, automatically "unblocks" them, same as the Nexus tool.

There's all kinds of "myths" surrounding DLL's, which I would dispel. Some are rooted in truth from old versions of windows, before it had the user account control overhaul (those annoying admin popups). Some are just FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) rooted in ignorance. As someone who has coded more than a few DLL's, I can tell you that they do not have unfettered system access anymore.

[HorrorVII]

You can just right click on the mod's rar/zip file, unblock it, then everything extracted from the rar/zip file would be unblocked.

[Royal Tar]

There's 0 reason to be using Win 7 and this is a great example of why

[RayvenQ]

My soloution was to just use 7zip, that seems to work reliably for me without having to unblock them.

[Schuit]

The amount of stupidity in this command is appalling.
You don't want to unblock dlls like that. Here, I'll make it even simpler, no running command prompt either:

1. Right click the Zip file after you download it.
2. Click Properties.
3. Click Unblock.

Done.
Just make sure that specific file is trusted, because otherwise, you screwed your whole system by allowing a trojan full access.

[carloculto]

It is more insufferable to install a measly mod on this game than all the Bethesda and R* games combined

[Morkonan]

Originally posted by Operation40:

things aren't like they used to be.

Neither solution here allows "unfettered" access to your system. Malicious DLL's would still need to run as admin to do any system changes. For that matter they still need to run, since DLL's aren't executables themselves -- you can't exactly double-click them. Also, keep in mind, this "block" feature isn't even enabled by default on all version of windows.

I've issued the challenge before elsewhere, but I'll put it here again - put your your code where your mouth is - make me a malicious DLL! I'll load it into bannerlord and we'll see what happens. We could also upload it to nexus and see if their scan finds it (they scan all uploads). Thousands of people use mods on Nexus everyday. DLL's are allowed on Steam Workshop which btw, automatically "unblocks" them, same as the Nexus tool.

There's all kinds of "myths" surrounding DLL's, which I would dispel. Some are rooted in truth from old versions of windows, before it had the user account control overhaul (those annoying admin popups). Some are just FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) rooted in ignorance. As someone who has coded more than a few DLL's, I can tell you that they do not have unfettered system access anymore.

....

Solarwinds : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2020/12/18/analyzing-solorigate-the-compromised-dll-file-that-started-a-sophisticated-cyberattack-and-how-microsoft-defender-helps-protect/

But, if you'd like more content: (Describes multiple facets of the subject, but focuses on .dll hijacking and does include maliscious .dll discussion and examples)

https://www.wietzebeukema.nl/blog/hijacking-dlls-in-windows

The number of examples to prove you are wrong are too numerous to list. They involve situations that are made more easy to accomplish thanks to mods containing much more than just one .dll file arbitrarily dumped somewhere.

Think about what it is you're telling people and the impact it may have for an innocent gamer just trying to get a "cool mod" to work. It's not the filetype that is inherently dangerous, it's what's done with it, just like any other malicious bit of code. Due to this specific situation, more than one suspected/malicious bit of shennanigans is in play here - A whole bunch of "mod" content is also being applied in the download/install, too.

You're saying that people are "crying wolf" needlessly, somehow asserting some privileged information that people who urge caution do not have or because they are unreasonably fearful and overcautious, reacting to imaginary threats.... Very well, please go advise Microsoft that their cautions put in place to scrutinize such processes more closely are needless and just caused by unreasonable FUD.

When you tell people that their caution and fears are unreasonable, you are then responsible for the results. If they engage in risky behavior due to your instruction, what happens... is your fault. Is that what you wanted the results to be with your advice and challenge? Did you want to increase every reader's threat exposure by issuing your challenge?

[thecelticnerd]

Originally posted by Operation40:

this deserves a bump

My solution was slightly different than OP. I put a file "unblockdlls.ps1" in my "Modules" folder

dir -Path . -Recurse | Unblock-File

this unblocks all dlls recursively from the folder you run it. After I manually download a new mod, I just right-click, click "run" on that file.

OP solution is fine, but I think it unblocks ALL downloaded dlls, everywhere... probably fine, but just somethign to be aware of.

Is there anyone that will be willing to explain this to me? I've been trying to get Realm of Thrones to work for the last 4+ hours and keep getting the error message that Steam can't load the ROT .DLL file. I've even tried manually going in and allowing access to it. Any help would be appreciated

[Mr Vice President]

Originally posted by Operation40:

this deserves a bump

My solution was slightly different than OP. I put a file "unblockdlls.ps1" in my "Modules" folder

dir -Path . -Recurse | Unblock-File

this unblocks all dlls recursively from the folder you run it. After I manually download a new mod, I just right-click, click "run" on that file.

OP solution is fine, but I think it unblocks ALL downloaded dlls, everywhere... probably fine, but just somethign to be aware of.

I sorry I'm new to this, what do you mean you created a file in the modules folder and are able to run it? What file type is it?