Minecraft Curseforge Is Completely Safe! We Tested It Out

Most players would have long stopped playing Minecraft if it weren’t for mods. They keep the game exciting and make it fresh time and time again. You can download mods from various websites, but not all of them are safe. One of the most popular ones seems to be CurseForge, so is it safe?

Can Minecraft mods contain malware?

Mods themselves likely can’t contain malware, but mods are also the resource packs that are most likely to have them. It’s not so much that they contain malware, but they can contain malicious code, which is worse. Malicious code is part of a code in software intended to cause undesired effects for the user.

The problem with malicious code is that it can’t be well controlled by traditional antivirus software so the code might run past your antivirus software scan. This makes modding seem scary because you really don’t want to risk having your expensive PC infected for a simple mod. Luckily, there’s a way to avoid it altogether without risking anything.

Before I start with the how-to, here is a quick word of advice. Modding in Minecraft will always be somewhat risky. It’s as risky as downloading anything from any website ever, though. You approach modding at your own risk, and there’s no one to blame but yourself if or when you eventually do end up with a virus. Now that you know the risks, let’s dig into it more.

How to recognize a potentially dangerous mod

Most mods on the CurseForge website are safe to download because CurseForge runs its own generic virus scan. Moderators also inspect the mod before making it available to the public for download, but even though they make sure to do all this, there are just too many mods on the website for them to check everything in detail.

This can cause some slip-ups, and you might end up downloading a potentially dangerous mod. Luckily, mods are usually .jar files, so your computer won’t automatically download them. This means that you can perform an antivirus scan on the .jar file to see if the mod is a threat to your security. Another way to go about this is to enter the source code of that mod and try to find a virus.

Finding the virus manually would likely require you to know a little about coding, so the best defense you might have against these malicious mods is owning paid antivirus software. This software can remove malicious content for you, but you can only do so much. The best practice is always to practice caution and be aware of the potential risks when it comes to modding—a quick word of advice. If the file you download is executable (with a .exe in its name), you are advised to delete it immediately because it likely contains malware.

I’m painting modding to be a bad guy when it’s not; the people make mods dangerous. The best way to know if a mod is safe without ever downloading it is to check the comments on the website. Another way to know for sure is if the mod has its own website and numerous downloads.

All the things listed above can make a mod seem legit, so how do you access this information on the CurseForge website?

Example of a safe-to-use mod

I’ll go ahead and share my process of analysis when it comes to downloading mods on the CurseForge website by using the example of All The Mods 8 mod pack.

To start with, we can see in the name that this is a team of mod developers, so we want to google their team name first by typing in their name, ‘ATMTeam,’ and adding Minecraft to the end. A quick Internet search tells me they don’t have an official website, but they are featured in the Feed The Beast Wiki. Feed The Beast is a brand/website that makes and collects all the best mods for Minecraft out there. Downloading from them is very safe, so the mod must be safe if they’re featured in their Wiki.

Let’s perform another security check by looking at the number of downloads underlined in red in the photo below. It has almost 2 million downloads, so either all these people downloaded a mod containing malicious content, or the mod is safe. The ladder is more likely to be accurate, but just to be sure, let’s check out the comments.

To find the comments on the CurseForge website, we must enter the mod and scroll down until we reach the comment section. The comment section has about 18 pages of comments, and none mention any viruses, so yes, this mod would be safe to download since it checks all the boxes to ensure it is secure.

If you don’t want to read all the comments on a mod page, you can press Ctrl + F, and a search bar will appear where you can type in the keywords you’re looking for on that specific page. For finding malicious content, the keywords would be malicious and virus, for example.

Is modding generally safe?

Modding is generally safe, but Mojang doesn’t recommend it, and they can’t be responsible for anything that happens to your device if you decide to mod your gameplay. Furthermore, suppose anything happens to the game or your world while you’re modding using mods from unofficial sources. In that case, they won’t be able to provide customer support or solutions to your problems.

Third-party mods are made by people with varying degrees of knowledge. Some mods may be bad because they aren’t coded very well, whereas others may be bad because they contain malicious content. Both of these are why you should only ever download mods from trusted sources and teams with experience and success in making mods.

Can antivirus software protect you from malicious content in mods?

Part of the defense regarding modding falls down on antivirus software. While they generally perform well, no antivirus software can protect you fully if you repeatedly make mistakes and download from suspicious websites with suspicious content. Luckily, CurseForge is considered to be one of the most trusted websites for downloading mods, and if you follow the three rules that ensure you’re downloading a safe one, you and your computer will be just fine.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!