HTML HTML Games - are they safe?

[ronan333]

Hello all. I see a lot of browser based games on here from a wide variety of producers.
Frankly, I am not comfortable running content in my browser from unknown sources.
I am afraid that it opens a potential portal for malware and don't feel it's worth the risk.
Their content is therefore wasted on me. How do you feel about it?

 

[desmosome]

The files are vetted by uploaders(I think). As for HTML games you don't need internet access for it. If you are paranoid, turn off your WiFi when running it.

 

[ronan333]

- scan the game before playing it
- update your browser
- run the game through a local web server: just google light webserver [INSERT YOUR OS HERE]
If in the address bar of your browser you read file:/// you're doing something wrong
- if you want to be safer, virtual machines can be set up for free. Or you can sandbox the browser, I suppose

Thanks for the reply. I do the first two; I have Firefox set to auto-update and I scan everything before running it. I guess most current antivirus packages scan for browser hijackers.
The one time I hit run before I could stop myself, I got a deeply entrenched virus and corrupted my entire hard drive trying to remove it so I've been a little paranoid since then. I've successfully removed them before but this was a bad one.
Again, thanks for the advice.

 

[LazerShark]

You should be more worried about the few games that still insist on using flash so close to its EOL.

 

[ronan333]

You should be more worried about the few games that still insist on using flash so close to its EOL.

That's a good point. It's surprising that developers still work with flash and I would never run a game without scanning it first and keeping up with flash updates. It's really common sense to scan games of all types before running them anyway. The only one I ran without scanning was the one that nailed me.

 

[frock]

I too am paranoid about playing HTML games.

Here's my specific paranoia: I often modify the simple/short games on F95 with my own characters, pictures, etc. I am worried that 'someone' will be able to gain access to my mod files because it is a browser-based game. (Typically I have Win11 + its firewall + a VPN). Is this a possible vulnerability? Would turning off the internet before running the HTML game make it impossible for 'someone' to see and capture my mod files, specifically my photos? Idk much about virtual machines and local web servers. Thanks for any help!

 

[Rafster]

Would turning off the internet before running the HTML game make it impossible for 'someone' to see and capture my mod files

Yes, you can do that to be 100% safe. It's a bit extreme though, all the HTML games I've played were safe. Honestly, it was more risky for me when I pirated commercial games than any HTML game. No one is gonna look for your modified files.

 

[frock]

Yes, you can do that to be 100% safe. It's a bit extreme though, all the HTML games I've played were safe. Honestly, it was more risky for me when I pirated commercial games than any HTML game. No one is gonna look for your modified files.

Great, thank you!