is python safe to download reddit

reddit.com › r › Python › comments › 7eba55 › is_python_a_security_vulnerability

No, there is nothing inherently insecure about python. However Python can be used to make a vulnerability. For instance it would be easy to make a web portal that executes anything that is typed in. This is true for any programming language, but python makes it extra easy. And I know, you would know better, but IT departments see all their users as idiots (often with good reason). Answer from novel_yet_trivial on reddit.com

reddit.com › r/learnpython › will downloading python mess up my os

r/learnpython on Reddit: Will downloading python mess up my os

September 19, 2024 -

Hey everyone so I brought a book teaching to programme in python for absolute beginners and it says you have to download python 3 but also warns that windows os systems can get glitchy and confused by it. I have windows 11 and just got the computer a few months ago so was wondering if it was safe to download without messing my computer up? I'm totally new to programming so sorry if this is a stupid question

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You'll be fine, sounds like a crappy book.

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Python is a user space program like any other. It can't mess up your computer unless you make it do that.

reddit.com › r/python › is python a security vulnerability?

r/Python on Reddit: Is Python a Security Vulnerability?

November 20, 2017 -

I recently sent a request to my employer's IT department asking for access to Python 3.6.3. The request was denied with the justification "Python is dangerous to have on a pc. It is a useful attack vector."

Can anyone provide insight on what this might mean? Does simply having Python installed on your computer make you more susceptible to attacks? I can't tell if my employer has a valid concern here or if they are just taking the easy route.

EDIT: Spelling

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No, there is nothing inherently insecure about python.

However Python can be used to make a vulnerability. For instance it would be easy to make a web portal that executes anything that is typed in. This is true for any programming language, but python makes it extra easy.

And I know, you would know better, but IT departments see all their users as idiots (often with good reason).

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Every Macintosh and a lot of Linux distributions for desktop have Python installed by default. I don't think they are unsafe.

Videos

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reddit.com › r/pythonlearning › just starting.... safe to download?

Just Starting.... Safe to Download? : r/PythonLearning

September 23, 2024 - Its only almost happened to me a few times (i used some plugins that were compromised and i had not updated them and i read about the issue at a later date on forums). ... For python, you'll download the core python software, a development environment, and then you'll quickly find that you'll need to download additional libraries for functionality, depending upon what you're trying to build.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › how safe it is to install a python project from github?

r/learnpython on Reddit: How safe it is to install a python project from GitHub?

July 8, 2022 -

I am considering installing a project that I found on Github:

https://github.com/stevedsun/notion-graph-view

(it is a really small project for the number of lines of code that it has)

The project has 133 stars

It's about creating a graph view from the content of the app Notion using its API to pass the information that the "graph app" needs/

But how safe is that? does the information that the "graph app" takes, stays on my PC?

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Generally-speaking, a public repository doesn’t mean there isn’t some function or feature that exposes you in some way. If you’re ever unsure, don’t use it. That said, it generally also means that you can explore the code and its requirements yourself, to ensure that you’re comfortable with what’s going on. Watch for things like requests to unfamiliar servers, access granted for things you don’t expect, or third-party libraries that you’ve never heard of. If it’s worth your time coding something, it’s worth the time reading the various docs and files to make sure your work is secure and safe!

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So here’s the thing: GitHub is only a repository. The repo you’ve linked is ‘open’ for all to see. Hence “open source.” This doesn’t mean that it’s 100% safe, just that you can read the code. But see, that’s the idea in open source code. You take full responsibility in reading and understanding what the code does. There’s a lot of assumptions in the community that open-source means safe. It does not. It only means “caveat emptor” (buyer beware). Do yourself a favor and do some research to form an opinion based on what what you can understand. That said, while I do not understand the code fully, I can see that it’s asking to code a token directly. This is common, but bear in mind that there are better ways to handle this that are more advanced and complex. More complicated than I can write about while replying on my phone to you.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › what does a secure python installation look like?

r/learnpython on Reddit: What does a secure Python installation look like?

April 20, 2025 -

Python's great, everyone cheers on Python, every weird essential desktop application at the office relies on a Python install, every analyst who has hit the limits of Excel wants to use Python. I don't see anyone really talking about the security implications of having a modular scripting stack with a history of add-on compromise installed on every production workstation.

How do you secure a Python install, what do you allow in it, and how do you cope with the eleventy hundred Python modules users claim they need?

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Virtual environments. Plus malware isint made in Python rarely because of the fact having to rely on the user to have Python to begin with. The packages having malware is different story. Though that’s a risk with everything.

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This question is probably better answered at r/cybersecurity But I'll throw in my 2 cents. Every program regardless if it's python or not comes with a large amount of dependencies and moving parts, some of them open source, some of them are hell knows from where. Look at xz security mess as an example. https://www.akamai.com/blog/security-research/critical-linux-backdoor-xz-utils-discovered-what-to-know Also at solarwinds. https://www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/solarwinds-cyber-attack You can have better control if you use a local repository with hand selected packages. Then developers will need to request more packages, or make due with popular vetted ones...

reddit.com › r/python › never run ‘python’ in your downloads folder

r/Python on Reddit: Never Run ‘python’ In Your Downloads Folder

August 24, 2020 - However if you visit bad sites but don't interact (don't run anything downloaded from it, and politely decline any permissions it asks for), which many people would assume to be safe, then you are at risk, since most browsers let sites stick stuff in your downloads folder without asking. ... It’s an issue on “safe sites” as well as another commenter pointed out - malicious ads are a huge problem.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › potential security risks of using python at work

r/learnpython on Reddit: Potential Security Risks of using Python at Work

January 21, 2025 -

So I wanted to install Python, download Selenium library on it, and combine it with Webdriver to access web-driven accounting software to automate some stuff; mainly downloading reports from the accounting software since there are tones of reports to download every month, which the software does not have automation function for. I don't want to deal with any data.

Senior director and I went to IT for the request to download Python and they declined; they said there is a security risk.

Does anyone know what potential security risks they are referring to? I don't have cs background so I'm not very sure. And is there a way to mitigate those risks?

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A few people have given plausible guesses, but the fact is we can't know how to answer this because we don't know where you work, what systems you're trying to install python and what the security requirements of those systems are. There are a million possible reasons the IT people responsible for security might not want a general-purpose programming environment on a given system. Unfortunately, you have to ask them which ones they are actually concerned about.

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I feel like you should be asking your IT, not reddit. Regardless, you're using open source resources, if those get compromised, who will be responsible? It would be IT, because they were the ones to allow it. If your senior director is willing to sign some paperwork, placing all financial data breaches due to the use of your tool as their responsibility, then I'm certain IT would be more willing. My additional guess, is that your senior director will not sign such paperwork either.

reddit.com › r/webdev › how to convince it department that python is relatively safe to use on work computer?

r/webdev on Reddit: How to convince IT Department that Python is relatively safe to use on work computer?

April 25, 2020 - I know it sounds silly and of course they should trust you, but as the IT security team their entire job is to limit trust company-wide so that it isn't as big a risk vector. They're probably rolling their eyes "why can't he just use VBA." Because they prefer the relative safety of Excel if possible. ... I don't think python is a security concern at all if OP's account has the correct permisssions, the files on the systems he has access to have the correct permissions, etc.

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reddit.com › r/python › fake python website be carefull!!!

r/Python on Reddit: Fake python website Be carefull!!!

February 5, 2023 -

Don't get fooled They're looking very similar

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Whois points registar to RU. https://whois.domaintools.com/pythonsource.tech - reported to the fraud agencies.

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VirusTotal link of the zip file: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/url/e57adbc898e9c23f974a49d205b334f6d9dfbfe25d4cf89f23ba7eed80a43c06/detection

reddit.com › r/python › psa: bootleg `python.org` spotted in the wild

r/Python on Reddit: PSA: Bootleg `python.org` spotted in the wild

March 1, 2023 -

Just came across a clone of the Python website. Flagging so y'all keep your eyes peeled for them camouflaged rattlesnakes.

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As a security researcher, whenever you see a phishing site like that, report it to the domain registrar thats managing that domain. You can look up the registrar by using any WhoIs tool. Look for an abuse email. Not all registrars have it but most do. I usually use https://whois.domaintools.com In this case the registrar is Alibaba Cloud Computing. And it looks like it was registered in August of 2022. Alibaba Cloud Computing doesn’t have an abuse email listed, but if you google Alibaba Cloud Computing Abuse Form, you’ll find the form to fill out for it. Usually registrars work pretty fast. Some within hours and others within a couple of days. Then they will revoke the domain name and usually ban the account or something along those lines. Its not perfect. But any downtime for the bad guys is a good thing. Its very interesting to me that they are replicating the Python site. I’d love for someone with malware expertise to analyze the binaries to see if they were modified and contain any viruses.

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Sometimes I wonder, how you guys even stumble upon such sites? I've never seen anything but official sites but I don't use google services

reddit.com › r/learnpython › will programming on python affect my computer?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Will programming on python affect my computer?

March 6, 2013 -

Could I accidentally mess up my computer if i downloaded python and when I program on it? Maybe things affecting the hard drive or anything? Would it overload the computer?

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While technically you could write something that will mess up your OS, the chances of that, especially as a beginner are basically none. As far as just having python installed on your PC goes: No, it won't overload your PC or affect your HDD in any way. It has effect on your computer as pretty much any other application.

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I suppose you could do some operations that could effect some systems, but as long as you don't start modifying or deleting system files or anything like that you will be fine. I've written some CPU intensive code that gets the processor usage up there but I haven't overloaded anything.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › best way to install python?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Best way to install python?

March 13, 2021 -

Should i down load python from the website or through vscode? because i dont want to run into the cannot find __main__ error anymore when trying to run py files from the cmd. Before i downloaded off the website but then vscode still had to install it anyway....

So i think i had two different versions of python. Everything is now uninstalled and i am making sure any python files that got moved are deleted also. I really want everything to just work this time and i dont want to waste anymore time running into issues no one else seems to have when it comes to running python files on there computer.

Also last question, where do i save python files when i am doing a save as on vscode? i am not sure it automatically saves it to the correct place to be able to run it from the cmd.

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The regular, recommended way (for Windows) is to download it from python.org. By the way, there is no way to "download Python through VSCode". VSCode doesn't have a feature for that. I assume you're talking about the Python extension in VSCode. But that's something completely different.

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The best way to install Python is the official way - https://www.python.org/downloads/ But the best way to use Python is using PyCharm IDE (Integrated Development Environment).

Quora

quora.com › Is-Python-safe-for-my-computer

Is Python safe for my computer? - Quora

Answer (1 of 6): Considering Python is in regular use across tens of thousands of computer systems across the world; everything from desktop machines, to internet servers, to small devices on the Internet of Things. There is no reason to suspect that Python is any less safe than any other softwa...

Python.org

discuss.python.org › python help

How to Ensure the Security of Libraries during Installation - Python Help - Discussions on Python.org

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How do you detect the security of anything? Your web browser? Your operating system? Your BIOS? Your CPU? Ultimately - you don’t. You have to trust that, with enough eyeballs on the code, it’s probably safe. This is easier to believe when there are more eyeballs, and that works better with some pro…

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Thank you, Chris! Your answer really impressed me. You mentioned using virtual machines for isolation in your response. I’m wondering if using the conda environment can achieve a similar isolation effect. Another point that puzzles me is that you mentioned installing libraries is like installing so…

Aqua Security

aquasec.com › home › application security › python security

Python Security: 6 Common Risks & What You Can Do About Them

July 23, 2024 - Like any programming language, Python is only as secure as the code that is written in it. Properly written Python code can be secure, but code that is not written securely can leave your application vulnerable to security risks.

reddit.com › r/pycharm › is pycharm safe for a noob? :)

r/pycharm on Reddit: Is pycharm safe for a noob? :)

November 15, 2022 -

Hey guys, I read news about Python lybraries, with some troyans hidden.

As I am not really technical I wanted to make sure whether it is safe to download and use pycharm(free)? I do not download any libraries, only code for fun :)

Thanx !

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Pycharm is fine, download it straight from jet rains (or follow their instructions to install it for your machine from somewhere else). As for python libraries, sure there’s some malicious ones out there. If you’re installing anything using pip or conda, you can always do your due diligence and check things like that the name of the package is correct and it looks well maintained

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Community version is free, go ahead. You might need to download some very commonly used libraries using pip but it’s no big deal. You shouldn’t be afraid to use pip anaconda, or some other installer to get new packages, it’s fundamental to python.

reddit.com › r/learnpython › which python version to download?

r/learnpython on Reddit: Which python version to download?

January 1, 2017 -

Really stupid question: which Python version should I install for Automate the Boring Stuff?

I have a win10 computer, 64 bit.

I'm completely confused by all the different downloadable files. If I just go to https://www.python.org/downloads and download from the big yellow button it seems like I'm getting a 32 bit version. Not sure though what amd64 means for the 64-bit versions. Should I always go for the latest release?

thanks.

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https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/

You would want x86_64, I suggest the executable installer. Python 3.6.0

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You'd want the 64-bit version of Python 3.6:

https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.6.0/python-3.6.0-amd64.exe

reddit.com › r/buhaydigital › install python on mac - is it safe?

r/buhaydigital on Reddit: Install Python on Mac - Is it safe?

6 days ago -

Hey everyone, quick question before I do something dumb 😅

I’m planning to install Python on my Mac, and I was thinking of just following steps generated by Claude to speed things up. I’m not super technical, so I’ll probably be copy-pasting commands into Terminal.

But that’s exactly what’s making me hesitate.

Has anyone here actually done this — like used Claude (or any AI) to install Python or run scripts on macOS? Did everything go smoothly, or did you run into weird issues?

Also being real here:

Did your Mac stay stable after?
Any security concerns or sketchy stuff happen after running the commands?
Or is this one of those things that’s totally fine as long as you know what you’re doing?

I’m just trying to avoid messing up my system or accidentally installing something shady.

Would really appreciate hearing real experiences before I go ahead with it 🙏

Top answer

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Install python based on the steps on python’s website. However, it would be much easier to just use uv to install python. https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ No issues on my mac so far

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reddit.com › r/learnpython › it denied my request to download python due to security reasons...

r/learnpython on Reddit: IT Denied My Request to Download Python Due to Security Reasons...

September 16, 2020 -

I used to have admin rights (data analyst) at my previous employer.

After starting my new role, as a sales analytics manager, I can’t even get python (or even a database application) installed...

Other than personal projects, any other creative ways to continue using python?

Edit: WOW! Thanks for all the feedback. I’ve addressed it to my manager and we’ve agreed to request it again after I propose a proper justification that backs up my needs to download Python. If it gets denied by IT again, my manager might go straight to the CEO but I don’t know if that’ll be necessary. Until then, I’ll have to familiarize myself with VBA again!

Suggestions to consider:

VM
Anaconda

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I'd just raise the request with your boss that its a key tool, like excel and access (and likely part of the reason you were hired). Ask him to escalate with IT leadership you need a support path to using the tools required for doing your job. They can install your python and chosen IDE, provide a VM, etc. Python provides no more or less security than excel vba macros.

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This is a security policy issue. If you need python to do your job, or do it more efficiently, then you will need to go through proper channels and have an exception made. Do not try to circumvent the policies, that is rarely looked favorably upon.

Security Compass

securitycompass.com › home › kontra › is python secure?

Is Python Secure? - Kontra Hands-on Labs

November 11, 2025 - Python is generally secure, but like any language, its security depends on how it is used and the practices developers follow.