[Guide] Modding safety 101

[VanDerProtofsky Profile]

As the modding scene for 1.7.10 starts to mature, more players are starting to get back their favorite mods or are being introduced to modding by other players. However, over the past week I have been dealing with players getting caught out by fake websites which can cause problems.

Please take care when you are downloading and installing mods, especially from unknown sources. Keep these guidelines in mind when looking for mods to install:

1. Use only trusted websites and official sources when searching
There are plenty of fake websites out there that automatically generate pages and posts for popular mods, pretending to offer the latest versions. These websites link to older versions via adfly for revenue or, worse, to spread malware.

For example, searching for the popular but outdated mod "TabbyChat 1.7.2" yields a lot of fakes: http://i.imgur.com/uUJ5Zkd.png

Make sure to only use that mod's official forum thread on the MinecraftForums or find the source using the mod list. If in doubt, talk to a more experienced player.

2. Install security software and addons
As some of these fakes may contain malware in their downloads, it is always best to have anti-malware and advertisement blocking software running.

These recommendations are subjective, please adjust to personal preference:

• For Chrome users: Adblock
• For Firefox (and other browsers) users: Adblock Plus
• All browsers: Web-of-Trust may alert you to community-known fake sites
• For Windows users: Malwarebytes Free
• For Mac users: Avira Free

3. Do not accept .jar or .exe or .zip files, or pre-modded packs from users
I have been tempted to do this myself, but at the end of the day it is bad practice. Any .jar files accepted from users or unknown sources are executable and therefore potentially dangerous. They may cause problems with your system or may compromise your Minecraft account. I have not heard any reports of this happening yet.

4. If a new version of Minecraft is out, wait
Modding is a very difficult process when a new version of Minecraft out, for technical reasons. It may take up to three-to-six months for mods to get updated to the latest version (this is also why TWiTCraft may take a while to update).

Again, fake sites pretend to offer the latest versions of mods. They prey on the impatient. Always wait for your favorite mod to become available. If its official website or forum thread does not offer a latest version, try again another time.

If mods have a beta or alpha version out, keep in mind they may cause crashes or have incompatibility issues with other mods. Use these with caution.

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Hope this helps!

[VanDerProtofsky Profile]

(reserved post)

[gregor1942 Profile]

a must use for all modding N00bs out there thanks vander!

[king Jaguar Profile]

(reserved post)

???
What in the world is that for?
Nice Thread BTW.