it’s an addon manager program, like how twitch used to be
is this app safe? I think it might be malware, wondering if i should reformat
Overwolf bought Curseforge from Twitch, so it’s a legit client. Some folks don’t like it because of the ads, or because they threatened to block access from other addon managers (I don’t know if they followed through on that), or because of the in-game overlays. Those are legitimate concerns but they don’t make the Overwolf client “malware” IMO.
What makes you think the copy you have is infected with malware? Did you download it from somewhere other than Overwolf’s web site?
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Yes it’s safe.
I have Glass wire installed on my computer as well as Malware Bytes and Eset.
Every time I launch Overwolf the executable programs are automatically submitted to Virus total for a scan. Virus total scans the exe with over 100 virus scanners.
I also have a daily malware scan and a daily Eset scan. I sometimes leave the Curseforge app (and hence Overwolf) up while these scannings are running. Sometimes I forget to close down Curseforge meaning the Overwolf programs would of been running for several hours when those scans were done.
I have yet to find a single shred of credible evidence that Overwolf has any form of virus or malware installed in it.
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Ads - aren’t active yet
The Threats to addon managers - big misunderstanding with miscommunications done both by the Overwolf PR team and the addon community.
In-game Overlays - Overwolf doesn’t come with these pre-installed. The system Overwolf uses for Overlays is you install them specific to the game you want to use them in. The only global one is a little launcher circle button for Overwolf that should come turned off. And that one doesn’t have a space for Ads at all AFAIK
I think people get confused when installing Curseforge and it installs Overwolf so they say it’s Malware but it’s more like “unwanted” software.
The Curseforge client is currently written sort of like a wow addon but instead of needing World of Warcraft to run it you need Overwolf’s framework to run it. You can’t run the client without installing the Overwolf Framework.
And that’s where I feel a lot of the objection is coming from - after all they wanted to install Curseforge not this Overwolf thing.
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Thanks for the more detailed explanation. I think I was getting the overlay confused with the framework, I just remembered there was something getting installed that many folks didn’t particularly want.
I have a low tolerance for bs from software companies regarding displaying ads on my computer screen. Given that overwolf has a bad rep for doing that I made sure to only run overwolf when I need it to. So one time only: open overwolf, click the Settings button (a sprocket icon), and on the Curseforge page, select “Exit Curseforge and Overwolf” as the behavior to take when you close Overwolf. I think during the setup program there was also an option I unselected for “Start Overwolf when windows starts”.
Thereafter I just remember to open it and update my addons before launching wow.
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I just use WoWUP instead. I’ve switched most of my add-ons to pull from non-curseforge repos where possible.
Overwolf may not be “malware” per se, but it is invasive, the ads are atrocious, the program doesn’t work properly to do what it says, and having had issues in the past I’m not about to risk it.
I used to play Heroes of the Storm with some friends, and we were using Teamspeak for voice (this was before Discord was a thing). I started using Overwolf for the in game overlay and to see who was talking. Not only did the overlay not work properly, it showed me ads, in game. I’m not having that.
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There’s currently no ads in the CurseForge app and it works great. Does something the Twitch app never did, actually auto-update addons.
It is kind of a nuisance that it forces you to install the Overwolf app but I personally have never actually opened the thing.
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if that is safe im the pope playing dk https://www.reddit.com/r/HearthArena/comments/j39na8/is_the_overwolf_app_showing_an_ad_after_each_game/
there are a ton of proof on reddit, even their own reddirt, over use of ram adn cpu, adult video adds, loading screen adds, selling YOU data, spying your pc and more. “currently there are no adds” ofr now, just wait, just like MTG arena they are wating to the people forget.
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Depends on what you mean by safe. Malicious software like trojans? no, bloatware, forced ads, limited access via other add-on managers? yes. It’s a way for the company to control what you use, where you get it from, and to force more ads into your face. Basically it’s a nagging parent looking over your shoulder saying, you cant d/l that, here check out this item you can buy, you gotta get that add-on from THIS source because we say so. So, if you dont mind getting told what to do with regards to add-ons plus extra ads then you should be fine. I personally do not, I just want certain add-ons for my game from a source I trust, not from what a corporation who gets paid to say what is trustworthy. Thus why I don’t use it and thousands more don’t use it. In the end the decision is up to you, hand over decisions to a corp or make them yourself.
Kind of missing the real problem that people have with Overwolf, and thats data harvesting practices and the selling of said data.
Plus the ads, which are already being served, unless they stopped for some reason which I highly doubt. I gave it a tentative shot with their HoTS client/overlay and I was served unskippable full screen video ads during gameplay for my effort. Why they think that is a great idea is beyond me. Regardless, after that debacle, I am never giving them another chance. Sure, fine, they aren’t installing trojans to steal my bank account info, but that is completely irrelevant. That was never once a legitimate source of concern.
The API is shut down and no longer available. It stops being a threat or “miscommunication” when they follow through with it exactly like they said they were going to, all the while lying through their teeth about what a public API is and how they work. They think we are all idiots, and I resent them for that.
The addon community said nothing wrong and wasn’t miscommunicating anything. The addon community said that accessing a public API isn’t theft, while Overwolf kept keyboard vomiting press releasing trying to insist that it was and that’s why it had to be stopped.
Overwolf may not be a virus, but it is definitely cancer.
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nothing digital that is publicly accessible can be stolen so any claims of theft are just pointless threats from clueless people. about the only “crimes” involved are civil ones, ie copyright infringement, except overwolf does not hold the copyright so thats moot, or a terms of service violation, which is another moot point as its publicly accessible data.
its still available, its just no longer public. you need an account to use it - because that allows them to enforce a ToS on the users of that API.
how anyone couldnt see that coming from a mile away i dont understand. unfettered access was bound to erode their advertising revenue, so of course they were going to do something about it.
i wasnt listening to anything going on at the time but if overwolf were denying it was going to happen then theyre full of crap, but anyone who believed them is gullible or extremely naive (which i didnt think anyone was any more considering what corporatism / capitalism has been doing to the economy and the planet).
Yes, I should have clarified. It is privately available, but no longer publicly available, like it was.
Yea it is. It’s basically just like the Twitch app was. Has worked fantastic at updating and keeping track of addons.
Really it’s not. Overwolf is an advertising delivery system for Curseforge’s addon manager soffware. It serves no valid USER function at all.
You can download and run Curseforge without it.
No, no, no, no … it installs extra ad-ware and spyware onto your PC. It’s 100% unsafe.
I dont use it, they were busted installing malicious programs onto PCs, plus the threats of blocking other programs, game overlays of ads. It screams we are going to steal your data and make your gaming experience suck. Considering there are other ways to get add-ons and manage them without that hassle, i say no way in hell.
I use WoWUP as well, nice and clean. If enough ppl went to it add-on developers would find somewhere else to post their add-ons, bypassing the blocking that Overwolf does.