# Is File Dropper safe? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2012, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-file-dropper-safe/623518 "2012-05-30T06:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-file-dropper-safe/623518/1 "2012-05-30T06:26:57Z")
I want to download a file (game patch) from File Dropper. But I don’t want to compromise my computer. Soooo, is File Dropper a reputable source? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-file-dropper-safe/623518/2 "2012-06-01T05:25:23Z")
Bump. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-file-dropper-safe/623518/3 "2012-06-01T06:20:00Z")
File Dropper is just a site that anybody can put anything on, including viruses. There is no way to determine if anything on there is safe without actually looking at the files themselves. Unless the the file(s) were uploaded by a very trusted source, I would be extremely weary. If you do decide to take the plunge and d/l anything from there, after you d/l it and BEFORE you run it, go to [this website](http://virusscan.jotti.org/en) and upload it (it’s very simple and self explanatory) and it will scan it with twenty different virus/malware scanners simultaneously. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-file-dropper-safe/623518/4 "2012-06-01T06:43:05Z")
Also, if it’s a game patch, why is not available from a more conventional and trusted source directly from the developer? You should really never run any files that were downloaded from a totally untrusted source like that, particularly if they are available elsewhere. Game patches are notorious vectors for people to steal your game account/login/characters/items, or worse. Even virus scanners can’t always catch everything. But that said, the kind of malicious files you might expect to find in something like a game patch are almost always very well-known exploits, and should be easily detected by most of those scanners in the link above. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-file-dropper-safe/623518/5 "2012-06-01T18:41:38Z")
The patch is for an old game which doesn’t seem to be officially supported any more…and the patch was made by a player, it’s not an official patch. However, this guy seems to have a very good reputation, and his patch is regarded as the best one available for this game. The game is good, but has some flaws in it, and Drog Black Tooth’s patch fixes most of the flaws. For instance, one big flaw is that the character can only level up to 50, which doesn’t give enough skill points to allow a player to access some of the more interesting items and skills in the game. I can choose to either raise my intelligence and gunmaking skills to make a really nifty gun, or I can raise my perception and firearms skills enough to become a really good shot, but I can’t really do both, if I intend to put any points in other areas of my character. The game (Arcanum) is a single player offline game. I don’t have a game account or character or login of any kind with this game. It seems that most of your worries don’t apply to this particular game and patch. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-file-dropper-safe/623518/6 "2012-06-01T19:20:16Z")
Ok. If Drog Black Tooth is well known and many others have installed this patch AND the link to the file on Drop Box was provided by him, it’s probably not too risky. In any case, you should definitely run it through that virus scanner link I provided above, at least just for the peace of mind. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-file-dropper-safe/623518/7 "2012-06-02T03:38:56Z")
I’ve been bitten by viruses before, so I get really antsy about things. And I also get really anxious to download some patches. So I’m gonna take your advice, and I’m gonna back up the computer first as well.