Difference between revisions of "PCGamingWiki:Editing guide/Files"
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==Password protection policy== | ==Password protection policy== | ||
| − | Hosting files on PCGamingWiki comes with a set of risks. Any of our hosted files getting detected as malware or viruses allows for the possibility of Google delisting the entire website and domain from Google search results, and putting the platform on the malware filter list used by Chrome and Firefox by default, preventing access unless explicitly allowed by the user. This has happened to communities such as the WSGF in July 2019.<ref>{{Refsnip|url=http://www.wsgf.org/article/google-flagging-wsgf-impacts-solutions|title=Google Flagging of the WSGF - Impacts & Solutions|date=2019-11-06|snippet=Google has decided that the files we host (exe files, patchers, etc.) are malware. Thus, they have flagged the entire WSGF as hosting and/or linking malware, which inhibits site access and search rankings.}}</ref> It is also a preventative measure taken by communities such as FearlessRevolution, which hosts trainers that get flagged as malware based on their | + | Hosting files on PCGamingWiki comes with a set of risks. Any of our hosted files getting detected as malware or viruses allows for the possibility of Google delisting the entire website and domain from Google search results, and putting the platform on the malware filter list used by Chrome and Firefox by default, preventing access unless explicitly allowed by the user. This has happened to communities such as the WSGF in July 2019.<ref>{{Refsnip|url=http://www.wsgf.org/article/google-flagging-wsgf-impacts-solutions|title=Google Flagging of the WSGF - Impacts & Solutions|date=2019-11-06|snippet=Google has decided that the files we host (exe files, patchers, etc.) are malware. Thus, they have flagged the entire WSGF as hosting and/or linking malware, which inhibits site access and search rankings.}}</ref> It is also a preventative measure taken by communities such as FearlessRevolution, which hosts trainers that get flagged as malware based on their {{W|Hooking|hooking}} and other behavior, similarly to mods that come as packed patchers and trainers hosted on PCGamingWiki. |
Therefore PCGamingWiki has taken a pre-emptive measure of password protecting files, and the policy is as follows: | Therefore PCGamingWiki has taken a pre-emptive measure of password protecting files, and the policy is as follows: | ||
Revision as of 00:02, 8 February 2020
Files background
Files is PCGamingWiki's file repository area. Files is a subsection of the Community site which runs on the IP Board forum software and is accessible via our PCGamingWiki Account. Our goal is to make mods, patchers, trainers and other useful PC gaming tools available without relying on third party hosting.
Password protection policy
Hosting files on PCGamingWiki comes with a set of risks. Any of our hosted files getting detected as malware or viruses allows for the possibility of Google delisting the entire website and domain from Google search results, and putting the platform on the malware filter list used by Chrome and Firefox by default, preventing access unless explicitly allowed by the user. This has happened to communities such as the WSGF in July 2019.[1] It is also a preventative measure taken by communities such as FearlessRevolution, which hosts trainers that get flagged as malware based on their hooking and other behavior, similarly to mods that come as packed patchers and trainers hosted on PCGamingWiki.
Therefore PCGamingWiki has taken a pre-emptive measure of password protecting files, and the policy is as follows:
- When uploading mods, patchers, trainers or other tools known to be safe but falsely triggering some anti-virus software, pack the files into a 7zip archive and protect with the password
pcgwand put the password in the file description. Failing to do so may prevent the files from getting approved.
VirusTotal allows a file to be scanned by a variety of anti-virus engines, which can be used to determine whether password protection is necessary.
Virus detected in PCGamingWiki file
Some files on PCGamingWiki may be flagged by antivirus software as containing a virus. This is because PC game fixes contain code which modifies computer program behaviour that can sometimes seem similar to a virus.
Our policy is that the files hosted by PCGamingWiki, like everything else on the internet, are downloaded at the user's own risk. We rely on the community to create and share fixes, and also for the community to point out potential problems with files.
That being said, we do not require file creators to submit or open source the code for their fixes because this is too onerous on the file creators. It is up to the user to make the decision whether they trust file creator.
If you suspect that a file contains a virus, please make a note on our #support channel on Discord. Repeated submissions about a file not passing 'X' antivirus suite are not appropriate. Many of our files do not pass these arbitrary virus scans (which often change over time), and at the end of the day, it is the user's decision whether to download a file from our site.
References
- ↑ Google Flagging of the WSGF - Impacts & Solutions - last accessed on 2019-11-06
- "Google has decided that the files we host (exe files, patchers, etc.) are malware. Thus, they have flagged the entire WSGF as hosting and/or linking malware, which inhibits site access and search rankings."
