Statement about antivirus programs flagging Skylords Reborn as unsafe

[Majora]

Lately we have been seeing an alarming rate of issues regarding the launcher of Skylords Reborn. We'd like to take some time to explain the situation, what you can do yourself, and how we are working to resolve these issues.

Since our last patch, several antivirus programs have been flagging certain Skylords Reborn files, with pcre3.dll often being identified as the culprit, though we have also seen mentions of proxy-internal.dll, proxy-legacy.dll and proxy-test.dll. 

Unfortunately, reversing some of the changes in the patch did not resolve this issue. We are now considering alternatives, such as purchasing certificates to mark these files as safe. However, as a volunteer project, we need time to explore these options, ensure they will solve the problem, and make sure that server upkeep costs are not significantly impacted.

In the meantime, players can make an exception for the Skylords Reborn folder in their antivirus programs. We understand players might be hesitant to do so, and while we do not know for certain what exactly makes antivirus programs consider these files unsafe (as their explanations are usually very vague) we’ll give an example why they might. The Skylords launcher functions in a way that triggers some antivirus programs, yet this functionality is necessary for the game to work and is harmless for the user.

By default, the game is designed to send your login credentials to the EA server, just like every other always-online game communicates with its official server. However, EA shut down the official server, leaving nothing to communicate with. Without the EA server, the game cannot function. To make Skylords Reborn work, it uses a technique that "reroutes" the login credentials you enter to the Skylords Reborn server instead of the non-existent EA server.

Because login credentials are being sent to a different server, it makes sense for antivirus programs to be alarmed. However, to be clear, what is being redirected is only the credentials you enter on the login screen. These are your Skylords Reborn account credentials, which the project already has from your registration. They are then sent to the Skylords Reborn server instead of the dead EA server. Otherwise, the game would fail to connect and not work.

To allow the launcher to function correctly, you need to make an exception for the folder so the antivirus program leaves it alone. Otherwise, the launcher might get stuck trying to find a file that was quarantined by the antivirus program. Please note that this issue might resurface with future patches. How to make an exception varies for each antivirus program. If you need assistance, please head over to technical support, and we’ll try to help you.

We understand these issues are causing frustration among our players, and we are working hard to find a solution that prevents users from having to take actions they might not feel comfortable with. We appreciate your understanding and patience as we search for solutions.

[chickennoodler]

Can confirm.

After whatever was in your new update today, the
up to date Windows Defender on Windows 11
now automatically blocks a file (probably your pcre3.dll) as a trojan.


So yes, even the default WIndows 11 settings will
now just blocks your file as a Trojan.

[Krehtan]

Well that's a hell of an announcement to wander into. I saw a steam comment talking about battleforge being remade by the community... so i thought i'd come over and check it out. Any idea when it will be playable again?

[Majora]

While its really unfortunate you ran into the project in a time like this, please take a look at our Community Updates for a more accurate state of the project over the last 3 years. We are, and have been, very active with the development and maintenance of the game.

The game is still playable, but Windows Defender and other AV programs suddenly decided to block these files, requiring the user to make an exception themselves. Obviously not a good look for a project you just encountered, so we are still exploring other solutions.

[Potato_Hoarder]

"Because login credentials are being sent to a different server, it makes sense for antivirus programs to be alarmed. However, to be clear, what is being redirected is only the credentials you enter on the login screen. These are your Skylords Reborn account credentials, which the project already has from your registration. They are then sent to the Skylords Reborn server instead of the dead EA server. Otherwise, the game would fail to connect and not work."

I'm not the most IT savy, but could it be possible to have the launcher verify credentials and not have that file rerouted?
Or would trying to bypass the EA authenticator lock us out of the game?
Or even worse for anticheat as we need to have a file aunthenticate at all times to your private server so we would just be flagging the file to the antivirus anyway?
 

Edited June 5 by Potato_Hoarder

[Kubik]

well no, it is not only the login credential, but everything, what cards you have, what maps you played, what actions you trying to do during match, .... everything, login credential are just the most obvious example. There is no EA's server to respond to these packets either, and there never was EA's server that would answer to things we added, like quests, achievements, cosmetics, booster history, ...
So there is no other way to do this. But we have been doing it like this since the begining, so no idea, why AVs started to trigger so much more now.

[Vysnia]

 

Finally I got one too 🤣

[chickennoodler]

Lol

Edited June 22 by chickennoodler
lol

[Hrdina_Imperia]

Luckily, doesn't seem to happen on Win 10 and/or ESET antivirus. 
Or at least I haven' had the displeasure yet. 

[alexmat]

19 hours ago, Hrdina_Imperia said:

К счастью, похоже, этого не происходит на Win 10 и/или антивирусе ESET. 
По крайней мере, у меня еще не было неудовольствия. 

 

[Hrdina_Imperia]

On 6/11/2024 at 10:10 AM, alexmat said:

 

Now that's a shame. 

[SoulhunterXX]

On 6/3/2024 at 4:23 PM, Majora said:

I have that problem too. And sometimes I can only start the game after downloading and installing it again. The installation is also tricky.

 

[Chimerae]

Wanted to boot up the old battleforge again, got the problem as well. I only use basic windows defender, on windows 10.

Edited June 13 by Chimerae

[Makaveli]

Ill wait for an update in the end I can’t trust that much. Kinda got shady vibes…

[SoulhunterXX]

Can you slowly get things under control? I can not play. I always just get an error message: Application error

[Majora]

9 hours ago, SoulhunterXX said:

Can you slowly get things under control? I can not play. I always just get an error message: Application error

If that is the case, your AV most likely isolated the needed file.

We are still working on fixing the issue, but its complicated. 

[SoulhunterXX]

If you mean AV Avira then no.

I don't use Avira.

I use Windows Defender

[Volin]

AV means just anti virus.

Defender is an AV

[Majora]

11 hours ago, SoulhunterXX said:

If you mean AV Avira then no.

I don't use Avira.

I use Windows Defender

As Volin already mentioned (but this seems to cause confusion quite often) AV = Anti Virus Program, but not just Norton or McAfee.

Windows Defender (which comes with your PC) is also an Anti Virus program, and effected by these issues. 

[Majora]

For the people that mentioned they have excluded the file, but have to do so every time they restart; the files get changed every time we patch (which is quite often while we are looking to solve the problem), marking the Skylords Reborn folder as safe should work.

[SoulhunterXX]

Yes, that really works.

However, instructions on how to do this would have been nice.

I'm just taking the liberty of writing the instructions here.

Press Windows key + I Then click on Update and Security Then on the left edge Windows Security. Then in the middle of the screen click on Viruses and Threat Protection. In the window that opens, click Manage settings under Virus and threat protection settings. Scroll down to the Exclusions section and click Add or Remove Exclusions. After that you will be asked briefly whether you want to access it, we click here yes and then the popup window closes again. And then you can see an add exclusions field. Click on that and select the folder in which Skylords reborn is located. Ready

I hope my explanation is somewhat understandable. If you have any complaints about poor English, please use Google Translate

Edited June 21 by SoulhunterXX

[chickennoodler]

Got Blue screened despite white listing folder.

I'll be back to try to figure out what went wrong.

[Majora]

23 hours ago, chickennoodler said:

Got Blue screened despite white listing folder.

I'll be back to try to figure out what went wrong.

Blue screen shouldnt be related to these issues, but rather a hardware issue im afraid.

[Makaveli]

9 hours ago, Majora said:

Blue screen shouldnt be related to these issues, but rather a hardware issue im afraid.

Yes. For me I remember that after i updated the Game and started it my PC Crashed to. After reboot or with crashing on Battleforge i got a blank screen starting my CPU temperature overheated. Thought first skylords burned my PC. After trying to boot 2 times my PC could start again after some i tried playing Skylodrs again but then the antivirus case started so for me I didn’t touch it again.

[Majora]

20 hours ago, Makaveli said:

Yes. For me I remember that after i updated the Game and started it my PC Crashed to. After reboot or with crashing on Battleforge i got a blank screen starting my CPU temperature overheated. Thought first skylords burned my PC. After trying to boot 2 times my PC could start again after some i tried playing Skylodrs again but then the antivirus case started so for me I didn’t touch it again.

I remember back in the EA days, I had to complete certain campaign maps (slave master comes to mind) super fast with my ex gf because her laptop would consistently overheat at a certain point. To my knowledge, BattleForge has always been weirdly heavy on certain CPU's.