CoX, Computer Virus and the safety of my computer
By
ArcticFahx,
Posted on: 2009-05-28 10:13 in Player Questions
They'll believe total strangers from the interwebz, but they won't believe you, who has played the game for I don't know how long, supposedly without having your computer ruined or being infected by a virus as a result of this game....?
Ok sure, why not.
Here we go then.
It's fine.
Nothing bad will happen to your computer as a result of this game.
I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for but....
I've been playing online MMO's for 10 years and I've never had a virus or malware distributed on my network to any computer. I've never lost an account to keylogging or hacking either.
Playing MMOs and Online games in itself doesn't open one to attacks. Setting a computer outside of the firewall in the DMZ could allow for attempts at security breaches, which is why I open ports to specific programs if needed rather than doing the DMZ.
If they have a solid firewall and they know how to use it then there should be next to nil risk as long as no questionable websites are visited. A lot of virus and keyloggers are distributed through sites advertising RMT and such. Some sites advertising free mp3s etc try to distribute malware as well. As long as everyone using the computer uses safe internet practices then there shouldn't be any problems.
It won't be the game at any rate that introduces any malware.
Doc Mech-Nec (Exalted): 50 Bots/FF MM
Crey Radiation Tank (Exalted): 50 Rad/Rad Corr
Servers: Exalted, Triumph, Champion
Alts: 32
Steam Profile
Only thing I can say is, there is no chance of a virus from the game or the game forums. I never had a problem with the game or the forums when it comes to a virus or adware or the like, at all.
And, I think this game is great! The only MMO I bother to play. Just dont let anyone influence your opinion of the game. Develope your own.
By the way, this is a cool way to stay in contact with loved ones. I stay in contact with my mom and dad with this game, and my wife plays it also 
Its cool to have a family get together in game.
[ QUOTE ]
There are some concerns at his house that playing City of Heros will ruin their computer and/or make them accessible to a computer virus.
[/ QUOTE ]
To be frank, this sounds like a remark from someone generally uneducated in computers or the Internet, like my mother when we got our first computer. When it broke, she blamed my video games. The real culprit? A physical disk crash 
Anywho, my mother's much more educated in computers these days (she even set up her own wireless router), but the fact of the matter is that the game client only communicates with the game servers. I've also been playing subscription MMOs for years and have never contracted any computer viruses from the games I've played. It can also be safely played with the computer's firewall program active, and will not lessen any security features in order to gain access to the game server.
The only detrimental the game could do to "ruin their computer" is use up hard disk space But as long as the computer has ~3GB available, it will be fine.
[color= yellow]Your son's computer will be more at risk reading /watching MSNBC news online than it would by playing City of Heroes.[/color]
((bolded/coloured for effect))
If he's really concerned, make sure he has a firewall and a good anti-spyware/malware programme installed and to run regular sweeps. I recommend AVG Free (others prefer Avast, but i have no experience with that) for virus protection, and i use malwarebytes, from malwarebytes(dot)org to scan for the really nasty stuff that may slip in.
I'd also recommend something like McAffee's site advisor, which gives a green/yellow/red (like a traffic sign) warning for sites that have been reported to be spammy/malicious right from the search index so you have some clue as to what you're looking at before you click on that link, and it will tell you exactly why it's rated that way if you hover the cursor over the rating marker.
You can quote me directly on this one.
Aha haha hahaha hehe hahahahahaha
or to paraphrase
lmao
I have never had any trouble with any MMO ruining my computer or exposing them to any virus.
Just to sum up:
roflmao@unfoundedworries.com
The only problem vis-a-vis virii and MMOs that I have found so far was the patch downloader for one specific BIG name MMO. It seemed that each time a patch was necessary, my main box would end up with some new (and usually the same) critters malwaring around. BUT that was because the patching was being done outside of the game engine, and I have never had anything attach itself to my PC because of CoX. And I run with only the router firewall enabled (no Windows or 3rd party firewalls).
Ninus Lvl 50 Bots/Dark/SM Mastermind Badges: 1384 @Ninus on Global
Put an Ebil MasterMind in the Obal Office: It wont be the first time
Campaigning for Global Global Ignore Champion since 2009!
I run the game on a computer with absolutely no virus protection and I've never had a problem. Viruses don't generally come from well maintained games that charge monthly fees and have regular patches. They come from games that are open source that aren't maintained and are frequented by people who like to cheat and hack the game. They come from devious emails and malicious websites that ask you download their own private never heard of it before software just to view their sites.
In short, this game is safe. Unless the devs personally add in a virus it's simply not going to happen.
^--What BlackAvaar said.--^
Adding: If a box pops up that you've never seen before saying you have a virus, and to get rid of it you need to go to XYZ site to download their tool to get rid of it ---- don't. That's their hook to get you to download the virus/spyware/adware/malware like an idiot.
If they do not have an anti-virus and have an internet connection they are already vulnerable to a virus. The game isn't going to give them one.
total kick to the gut
This is like having Ra's Al Ghul show up at your birthday party.
Dear Jayden,
may I ask just how computer savvy the others are at your son's house? Having said that, I'll say that I'm (at best) only computer semi-literate. As far as technical stuff goes, I'm clueless. However, my experience indicates that, in general, it isn't the game that poses a risk to the computer, be its functioning or in terms of viruses.
If I'm understanding my experience correctly, you COULD have issues affecting the computer if the graphics card isn't up to the specifications needed to run the game or if things aren't configured correctly (drivers and such).
I, personally, have had issues running CoX on Vista ... I was distinctly worried that whatever imcompatibility there might be, would burn out my graphics card. I switched back to XP and don't have a problem. That being said, I understand that not everyone has problems with Vista and CoX (or, any other games).
I'm sure that there are many others that can and will address technical issues connected to CoX, if that's a concern.
As for viruses and such ... again, in my experience, it isn't the game itself that poses the risk. It is much more likely to be injudicious internet browsing. May I ask what what internet browser is used in the household. I STRONGLY recommend against using Internet Explorer. It is my understanding that it is not a really safe browser. I DO recommend Mozilla Firefox ... and it has addons that make it even safer; one that I use is NoScript ... it prevents any nasties from being able to alter/rewrite anything on your machine ... unless you specifically give it the ability to do so. You actually need to do this by using a menu ... you can give permissions temporarily or permanently. I mostly just give the permission temporarily whenever I visit any given site. It's a bit fiddley to do it everytime, but it's worth it for me.
It's also a good idea to be VERY careful about what you click on when you're visiting sites like the various internet forums you'll find on the net. 99.9% of linked images and such are probably perfectly safe. However, it only takes one bad link to cause problems. In fact, it is entirely possible (this happened to me earlier this year, which is why I now use NoScript and AdBlock) that a perfectly innocent link is provided to another site, that is also perfectly innocent EXCEPT that someone has hit it with a trojan or malicious virus and corrupted that perfectly innocent, non-malicious site ... and the owners of that second site may not, as yet, even be aware of what's happened.
I'm certainly willing to attest to the integrity of the game and the fun I've had. Also, the great people I've met and played with in the several years that I've been here.
I, also, feel that for parents and children to play together as a way of interaction is an enormously valuable commodity. I play (mostly pen and paper, tabletop) games with my twenty seven year old son. We've been playing them together, on a regular basis, since he was about fourteen. I feel that it has added immeasurably to our relationship. In fact, it was my son who introduced me to CoX when I was down with an Achilles tendon injury. Sadly,he's not playing CoX at the moment; he's gone back to WoW, which I've also played, but am allowing to languish, for now, in favor of CoX; a situation that has continued for almost three years. I choose CoX for any number of reasons ... community, the fact that as a game it's not nearly so loot driven among them.
I don't know if any of my ramblings have addressed any of your concerns but here's hoping! And I hope that you can reach an amicable arrangement with the powers that be in the household where your son lives.
Geni
<qr>
I have never heard of, in this game or any other major MMO heard of a MMO tranmitting viruses. Ever. I've heard of, a LONG time ago, some virus detection programs mistakenly flagging certain game maps as viruses, but that was an error with the virus program, not a virus infestation.
That's 5 years of experience with this game, experience with WoW, LOTRO, Warhammer Online, AoC, and plenty of forum reading. It doesn't happen. The hubby also has experience with EQ and SWG. He's never heard of it happening.
On the flip side, a cloth diapering forum I frequent is having massive issues with the ads it serves transmitting viruses. I run firefox with adblock plus and flashblock, so it hasn't happened to me. You're more at risk from random web surfing than you are from gaming.
i never had a problem until i down loaded the "hot coffee"mod. or was it "hot cuppa"? dont remember.
seriously though.
rest at ease maam, your gonna be ok, let the boy play.
Play on a Mac, problem solved.
The best comics are still 10�!
My City of Heroes Blog Freedom Feature Article: "Going Rageless?"
If you only read one guide this year, make it this one.
Super Reflexes: the Golden Fox of power sets!
WARNING: I bold names.
Or on Ubuntu for that matter. Little WINE goes a long way 
[ QUOTE ]
Or on Ubuntu for that matter. Little WINE goes a long way
[/ QUOTE ]
The only reason I don't migrate to Ubuntu is because I use a Zune and there is no third party protocol for the music transfer as of yet. The creative zen players support one but I really like the Zune and it only works on Windows at the present.
Doc Mech-Nec (Exalted): 50 Bots/FF MM
Crey Radiation Tank (Exalted): 50 Rad/Rad Corr
Servers: Exalted, Triumph, Champion
Alts: 32
Steam Profile
[ QUOTE ]
Play on a Mac, problem solved.
[/ QUOTE ]
Does not compute.
Macs are not magically immune to viruses. The only reason a Mac isn't hit as often with a virus as a Windows system is because Windows is far more common and widespread, which means the virus will hit as many people as possible. I've had to put up with people who own a Mac when they get all pissy when their system shuts down because of a virus while they had no virus protection software. It's not a pretty sight, though it is humorous when they say "I had a Mac!" for a reason why they didn't protect themselves.
As to this thread topic: having CoH on your computer doesn't open you up to a virus. Playing CoH does not open you up to a virus. Running the updater to get patches does not open you up to a virus. Whoever told you it did is technologically ignorant.
Main Hero : Annilixxion -- Lv50 Blaster
Main Villain : Menkaura -- Lv41 Mastermind
@Laxx
"You will bend to my will, with or without your precious sanity." --Dragon Mage
Don't believe them! As soon as I logged on this morning I got five computer viruses!
Also two clockwork winders, a luck charm and three inanimate carbon rods.
(Sometimes, I wish there could be a Dev thumbs up button for quality posts, because you pretty much nailed it.) -- Ghost Falcon
[ QUOTE ]
Don't believe them! As soon as I logged on this morning I got five computer viruses!
Also two clockwork winders, a luck charm and three inanimate carbon rods.
[/ QUOTE ]
Hehe! I just had an image pop into my head of him yelling out "I got a computer virus!" when he gets the salvage and his mom freaking out.
I will personally hack his computer if he DOESN'T play!!!
(does that help? I'm trying to be helpful... yeah, best to ignore me)
[ QUOTE ]
Don't believe them! As soon as I logged on this morning I got five computer viruses!
Also two clockwork winders, a luck charm and three inanimate carbon rods.
[/ QUOTE ]
LOL
[ QUOTE ]
Don't believe them! As soon as I logged on this morning I got five computer viruses!
Also two clockwork winders, a luck charm and three inanimate carbon rods.
[/ QUOTE ]
The above is epic. I love it.
Just one great thing about this game
Lot of great stuff here and I thank you all.
I'll keep you posted
[ QUOTE ]
Macs are not magically immune to viruses.
[/ QUOTE ]I can't quote this hard enough. It's really annoyed me with the recent PC vs. Mac ads where someone asks for a virus-free computer and are given no option but the Mac. Grah! Mac does not mean virus free! PC does not mean virus-ridden! >
Anyway, to address the thread at hand: simply being connected to the internet could "theoretically" get you a virus. The likelihood of that actually happening is abysmally low. As in, you're more likely to win the lottery, get struck by lightning, and find your long-lost half sister in the same day before it happens randomly like that.
Viruses get spread when you download and run them yourself (sometimes pretending to be something else, sometimes just because you have no idea how to keep your computer clean), or they're download and run by another program already on your computer (specifically, another virus). Since the two programs used by CoH (the updater, and the game client itself) are not malicious, they won't be downloading or running any viruses, and your chances for getting a virus while playing are, again, abysmally low.
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/36641/My-Little-Exalt
Playing the game is less of a risk than surfing to random websites to read panicky articles about why playing the game might be a risk. Use a firewall, keep your antivirus up to date, practice safe computing and your son won't have any problems.
Arc 55669 - Tales of the PPD: One Hell of a Deal (video trailer)
Arc 64511 - The Wrecking Ball
Arc 1745 - The Trouble With Trimbles
Arc 302901 - HappyCorpse
I bought CoX for my son so we could interact with one another when he wasn't visiting me on his weekends.
There are some concerns at his house that playing City of Heros will ruin their computer and/or make them accessible to a computer virus.
I am not sure how to quell their concerns other than maybe ask for a short testimonial from fellow players about the game, its integrity, the fun you have had and whatever else you might feel like adding.
I'd be very appreciative
Jayden