Is SwiftKit Safe? Clearing up some confusion

Recently we've noticed an alarming trend of players thinking that SwiftKit is either unsafe to use or outright illegal. With both being completely untrue I thought it's time we cleared a few things up and explained. By doing so hopefully it will help those confused and misinformed along with helping avid SwiftKit users explain to others what the deal is.

The SwiftKit project has been running for over 8 years now and we intend to continue it for a lot longer. We do not force players to use the SwiftKit client, however, we do not appreciate players spreading false and potentially reputation damaging comments. The SwiftKit team works hard to maintain the safety of users. In aims of transparency, I will address two of the most common misconceptions regarding SwiftKit below.

Concern #1: Is SwiftKit Legal? / Can I get banned?
Yes SwiftKit is legal, and no you can not get banned. SwiftKit is and always has been perfectly legal to use. Jagex have not once ever banned a player for simply using SwiftKit (or SwiftSwitch it's predecessor). So why don't Jagex support SwiftKit then? Simple. SwiftKit is a 3rd Party Client. That means Jagex has no control over it, so for them to support or recommend it would be risky from a business perspective. If for any reason Jagex changed their stance, we'd be the first ones to announce it. Although very unlikely as we've always worked with Jagex to ensure that SwiftKit remains legal by making any necessary changes.

Concern #2: Is SwiftKit Safe?
Simply put SwiftKit is as safe as browsing any other RuneScape fan site out there. No SwiftKit is not a virus and no SwiftKit is not a keylogger. Let's be realistic here, SwiftKit has been around since 2004 and had over 3 million downloads. If it was even remotely unsafe whatsoever, do you think it would have lasted this long or had that many downloads? Would on average 20 thousand players use it daily? Not likely. Our primary goal is and always has been to help players out and to make their RuneScape experience more enjoyable.

Concern #3: What about harmful updates?
Another concern some users may have is the fact that SwiftKit downloads updates on startup via the Launcher. What if the update server were to be compromised, could the attacker push out harmful updates? The answer is no, it's not possible. We've built many layers of security and protection into the Launcher to prevent any unauthorised updates being pushed out. All updates downloaded are verified by the Launcher and also against a number of integrity servers. If the integrity check fails, the update is aborted and the file deleted.

While it is true that a few months back the SwiftKit.net domain was stolen from us for a few hours, the SwiftKit client itself was NOT affected. This occurred because of a flaw in our domain host GoDaddy's account recovery system. The SwiftKit.net domain was stolen from us by means of fraud and identity theft. We have since moved all our domains off GoDaddy and onto a much more secure domain host.

We've been seeing far too many misinformed, confused players believing that "SwiftKit was hacked", which is completely false and rather damaging to our reputation. We've put a lot of effort into making the SwiftKit Client/Launcher as secure as possible. With the security measures in place, you run the exact same risk using SwiftKit as you would browsing any RuneScape fan site - or in fact any website out there.

Hopefully this will help clear things up for those confused or unsure. It would also be a great help if you notice someone posting or commenting false statements like "SwiftKit is not safe" or "SwiftKit is illegal" that you correct them or point them to this post.

Posted by Stidor in SwiftKit News | 24/08/12 | 39 Comments

Comments

just started using it and i like it glad to see its safe and the users to back this up.

I have used Swiftkit for many, many years and can honestly report no problems ever. Great program great everything. Thanks swiftkit

It the best client out there, aswell as getting quest guides pop up for you instantly woot

It may not have the health/prayer/energy bubbles that Orion does, but it makes up for it in it's wealth of other useful features

Been using swiftswitch/swiftkit since 2005 :) love you guys!

i have used swift kit for years swift kit is trusted cheers swift kit <3

Change back to swift switch pl0xxxxxx

I've been using this for years, and will continue to use for years, thanks SK :)

Have you heard of false positives?

I scanned it with virus total before running it and it had a 3/46 detection ratio.

IT'S NOT SAFE.

My Vipre blocked Swiftkit's Swiftkit.$$A from opening, it's being cl****ified as a (Worm.W32)

Please help.

I can still remember the SwiftKit beta back in the day (when they removed the world switching feature.) Needless to say, I don't play runescape w/o SwiftKit.

I have been using SWIFTKIT from since the day I got on Runescape. This program offers everything I need. Having a very poor specs computer this program brings all the resources I need into one amazing package. The fact that my computer can still handle Swiftkit is amazing. Swiftkit is a amazing package that uses almost no space!


From a dedicated RS Player, This program is a must need!

Have had swiftkit since it came out, and I love it!!!

ffs its fine

Xeonsage... I webroot its dumb anyways lolololol... If u tryid to downlode a song id tell u to turn it off and never use the comp again lool... That thing is so paranoid! lol Tis like mah gramma with a cold... she trips **** thinks shes ganna die and starts preping her death lawlz! BTW i just got 99 ATTACK :) ****s yeah

Iv been using swiftkit fot sometime now. It makes my gaming faster! :) and easier to check items and hs. reather then opening up other browers. Tbh I think jagex should sign with these guys. Could make the game 10x More enjoyable for the rest of our Rs Players

I've been using Swiftkit ever since it came out, and Swiftswitch before then. People who have the nerve to say that SK is illegal, or is vulnerable to hackers makes them dense, in which case they should learn to read and try to interpret with their brains rather than just shooting off their abnormally large mouths.... GF Trolls. Have a nice day. SK4Evr

My webroot antivirus detects swiftkit as W32.Malware.Gen.... anyone care to comment?

Staff edit: This is a false positive that's been reported to webroot.

I've been using swiftkit for about two years tough, never had a problem with it.

I've been using swiftkit for a little over 6 almost 7 years now. I have never had a problem with it and think it's waaay better then any client jagex has made. (Not to mention swiftkit was here before RS client) ;)

The utilities and features can't be beat :) Thanks for all your years of awesomeness swiftkit makers!

benn using swiftkit for 5 years never had on problem

Also for the unbelievers: If Jagex ever said Swiftkit was illegal or whatever, do you think the domain would still exist? Or even still be widely available for download? I think not. I'm sure Jagex would attempt to remove all traces of it, like they do with RWT/bot sites. Been using for years myself, very few issues with it. Had the occasional issue with it where it pretty much wouldn't work, in which case I mainly used Firefox, but as always, the Swiftkit team keep working hard, fixing bugs as they go =) Would buy them all a beer for their hard work, but yeah, that would be hard to do xD

Been using SK since it came out and SS since I first heard of it all those years ago. Never had one problem. Anyone who thinks SK is 'bad' is horribly misinformed.

Hi MTV welcome to my crib.

All jokes aside I've used Swiftkit for about 4 years and NEVER had a virus or any insecurity from it.

I've used Swiftkit since it's release and Swiftswitch prior to that Zybez Team and Strider all the way. I even used it straight through the questionable days just gotta be totally dumb to accept unsigned java apps.

Been here since 05 I use it everyday and will not ever stop using it. Love you guys and keep up the great work.

King Corp

Thanks for the rant SwiftBros. I can now refer to you as SwiftMom.

been using it since switchswitch and never ever wanted another client:)

I've used SwiftKit ever since it came out and have never had an issue with it other than maybe a few small bugs here and there. It is a great tool and I suggest for anyone who plays RuneScape to at least try it. It helps a ton.

@Lethality The number one issues we had with Zybez was that they are owned by the Curse Network and as such we could never get anything done as the Zybez staff couldn't update the infrastructure, only edit the database. It became such a hack job (JavaScript in item descriptions for example).

Tip.it isn't missing the data (or less concise) as such they just lay it out differently. We are currently working with them to present the data in a way similar to what Zybez did. We have a very good working relationship with the developers, a direct line.

If there are specific things you have noticed I invite you to post on our forums. We can then make changes to what information is displayed when.


Simmo, Head of SwiftKit Support

I think what the above poster meant to say was something like this, " Swiftkid is and always has been great, however, I personally think it would be a better service to the users if it were bundled with Zybez as opposed to tipit." Now that is a statement I can agree with. Tipit is ok, but sometimes just does not convey the information that I am looking for. I have found Zybez to be better, but even they are lacking in some areas. They do however have great skill guides. The site I think that Swiftkit should work with is RSWiki. They have a surplus of information from historical prices on the GE to actual pictures showing me where someone is located, not just saying "Bob: NPC ~~ Location: Varrock" ... I mean that is a little vague if you ask me. However, even RSWiki has their issues, namely their constant video ads that play. It would not be as bad if they were naturally muted.... but nOoOoO... they have to be loud as ****... and then they will reload after a period of time and play again, or sometimes a whole new video despite the fact that you never loaded a new page.

Now, I said all that to say this, while I do not think that changing who you work with in regards to the item lookup system you have in place will actually help the false rumors from flying, I do strongly believe that many of your users would be benefited by a more concise information package that is offered by other sites.

Anyway, I have rambled enough. Keep doing what your doing SwiftKit team.

I don't use swiftkit, i don't even use a platform that it is supported on, however i find this; a huge mistake: "All updates downloaded are verified by the Launcher and also against a number of integrity servers."

To me, that sounds like you are using hashing methods (md5, sha, etc) for integrity checks which are grabbed from several remote servers? If that's the case, you shouldn't be doing that. If somebody can take-over one of your servers (or domains), they can take over all of them. It would be wise to use a signing mechanism such as PGP which does not rely on remote storage.

Staff Response:
Without getting into specifics, there are a number of other hurdles they would need to overcome. Gaining access to the update server as well as the integrity servers still isn't enough for them to be able to successfully push out an update.

Will take your suggestion on board though and check it out. Might be a better option for us. Thanks

i have used since it came out i love it everything you need with just a click of the mouse thx guys keep up the good work

i think swiftkit is one of the best clients ive used for runescape, everything else fails to compare!

hopefully the hard work continues regardless of what people are saying, cos i would struggle without it!

thnx guys ur doing great! i'd love a job with u guys.

insaniac

i love swiftkit. things happen and there domain was hacked very temporaily. the client itself IS JUST A BROWSER. it plays runescape through Internet explorer 9. you just don't see the browser bar. its safe. legal. and extremly useful

i love it

thanks guys =D

Then why don't you tell us what 'saftey' messures ARE in place? If you could have gotten a domain stolen from you, what makes us think your download server domain won't be stolen or hacked? That's all that has to happen and they issue a SwiftKit update, bundeled with keyloggers and trojans.

----------

Staff Response:

Great question, however your assumptions are very wrong. We actually explain this on our Knowledgebase. An attacker can not push unauthorised updates.

http://kb.swiftkit.net/question-can-i-get-hacked-from-using-swiftkit-.html

"It is not possible for malicous updates to be pushed out via the SwiftKit Launcher. The reason for this is because the Launcher protects you from any unofficial updates, for example the unlikely event that an update server ever got compromised. The launcher does this by checking the integrity of all updates downloaded, if the integrity check fails it will immediately stop the update and delete the file."

I have been using swiftkit for years and will continue too!!

Zybez #1

Add Comment

Name:
Comment:
Type GwnUB into the box below:


Remember Me | Forget Me