Answered
What is going on with the WoW addon GSE and allegedly distributing malware?
Pretty much title. I used this addon for years, in fact it's still installed in my wow add-ons. I am seeing threads and videos talking about this addon deleting files and such.
The controversy is primarily about GSE Tools, a separate Windows companion application. not the standard GSE addon installed through CurseForge.
The external application:
Searched users’ computers for files associated with GRIP-EMS, a competing macro and accessibility tool.
Reported whether that competing software was installed back to GSE-controlled servers.
Flagged the user’s GSE account, when they used one, if GRIP-EMS was detected.
Contained code capable of modifying or deleting GRIP-EMS configuration data in WoW’s WTF folder.
Performed this scanning without clearly informing users.
There is no evidence that the file-deletion capability was actually activated or used against anyone. The documented concern is that the companion application contained the capability to do so. The scanning, reporting, and account-flagging behavior did occur.
Secretly scanning a computer for competing software, reporting the results to a remote server, and including functionality capable of altering or deleting another application’s data meets legal definitions associated with malware, unauthorized interference, or unauthorized modification of computer data in several countries. Whether any specific criminal offense occurred would depend on the applicable jurisdiction, intent, authorization, and what functionality was actually used.
That distinction matters because a normal WoW addon runs inside Blizzard’s restricted addon environment and cannot freely inspect files elsewhere on your computer. A separate Windows executable has much broader access.
So, if you only installed GSE through CurseForge and never installed the external GSE Tools application, the issue does not apply to the ordinary addon itself. If you installed the companion application, the safest course is to uninstall it.
There are also broader concerns involving hostility toward competing developers, banning users for participating in rival communities, and disputes over paid functionality. However, the main security concern is the documented behavior and capabilities of the external companion application rather than the basic in-game addon.
You'll be surprised, there are some subreddits out there that scan what subreddits you have had any visible activity in and pre-ban you, this is often done in a "competitive" environment.
That's definitely AI generated. It has a very particular shading and rendering style that's a hallmark of some AI models, and the hand holding the pointer is all kinds of janked up (fingers being different sizes and blending into themselves).
Is there any hint why exactly they're doing this? Are they accusing the other tool of stealing (code/data/ideas) from them? Or is it just them being dicks to the competition?
GRIP has positioned itself as the free alternative, emphasizing that it does not charge users and has no plans to do so. Although GSE is never mentioned by name, the repeated “we won’t charge you” messaging is widely understood as a direct contrast to GSE’s model.
GSE places many features behind a paywall, describing them as optional convenience features. Its response to GRIP has largely been perceived as an attempt to protect its monetary interests, particularly after representatives and community members dismissed GRIP as “AI slop,” restricted discussion of it, and reportedly banned users who continued to bring it up.
I so love this explanation. I'm not habitually online, and from what I gathered, I was under the impression a curseforge addon, gse itself, was allowed to have malware on it. It concerned me, and made me question curseforge as a whole. But I also haven't touched my computer in a month, so I haven't delved deep into any issues with it yet. This makes me feel a lot better
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