Help installing python, please

[Mark Kaine]

this is the instruction:

 

 

where do I get the program itself tho, and how do I get to this specific line "pywin32:" ?? 

 

Also is the program itself safe? 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

"newever version do not work with the current"

Lmao are you sure that site is legit?

 

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

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

[Eigenvektor]

8 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

where do I get the program itself tho, and how do I get to this specific line "pywin32:" ??

Where did you find the instructions? I assume GitHub, which is where you'd get "the program" whatever that is. Or rather the program's source code.

 

"pywin32" is a prerequisite for running the program, so you need to install it through pip, with the command line shown in the instructions.

[Guest]

I really have no idea how python works, I just assume you can run that command thru the app? Maybe cmd or powershell once it's installed?

[Mark Kaine]

1 minute ago, Eigenvektor said:

pywin32" is a prerequisite for running the program, so you need to install it through pip,

what is pip?  

 

2 minutes ago, Sp4gh3tti said:

"newever version do not work with the current"

Lmao are you sure that site is legit?

 

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

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

well the site is github... shady af, but I know that many mods use older versions of some programs, probably easier to exploit, but I suppose the mod itself is indeed clean... 

 

 

[Eigenvektor]

2 minutes ago, Sp4gh3tti said:

I really have no idea how python works, I just assume you can run that command thru the app? Maybe cmd or powershell once it's installed?

pip is a package manager for Python.

 

So it's basically telling you: Install Python 3.6.5, then install Pywin32 (using pip) and then you should be able to run (or compile) the program itself.

[Mark Kaine]

7 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Where did you find the instructions? I assume GitHub,

yes but there's only a download for the program itself (an extractor mod) but no link to python whatsoever... so I just have to search for that specific version...?  I have no idea what pip is... btw

[Mark Kaine]

2 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

pip is a package manager for Python.

 

So it's basically telling you: Install Python 3.6.5, then install Pywin32 (using pip) and then you should be able to run (or compile) the program itself.

Ok, thanks... if you have a link that would be cool, otherwise I'll find it I guess.  

[Eigenvektor]

2 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

Ok, thanks... if you have a link that would be cool, otherwise I'll find it I guess.  

Link to what exactly? You mean Python 3.6.5?

https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-365/

 

The instructions are for running/installing some Python program, not Python itself. Installing Python should also install "pip", which you can then use to install Pywin32. Then you should be able to run whatever program those instructions refer to.

[Guest]

https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installing/

https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/user_guide/

 

Documentation!

 

[Mark Kaine]

5 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Link to what exactly? You mean Python 3.6.5?

https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-365/

 

The instructions are for running/installing some Python program, not Python itself.

yeah right so I install python then type this command line that should install the program (the mod) seems complicated, unless this pip is easy to find lol 

[Eigenvektor]

Just now, Mark Kaine said:

yeah right so I install python then type this command line that should install the program (the mod) seems complicated, unless this pip is easy to find lol 

It should be included with current Python versions. So installing Python should also install Pip. See the instructions @Sp4gh3tti linked to.

[Mark Kaine]

4 minutes ago, Sp4gh3tti said:

https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/installing/

https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/user_guide/

 

Documentation!

 

 

1 minute ago, Eigenvektor said:

It should be included with current Python versions. So installing Python should also install Pip. See the instructions @Sp4gh3tti linked to.

ok, thanks guys. 

[Eigenvektor]

1 minute ago, Mark Kaine said:

ok, thanks guys. 

Just to be clear, the pip command installs Pywin32, which is a library/pre-requisite for running the mod itself. I assume you still need to download the mod from GitHub.

[igormp]

15 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

well the site is github... shady af

Github isn't shady, it's owned by microsoft and currently the most used site for hosted git worldwide lol

[Mark Kaine]

Just now, igormp said:

Github isn't shady,

do they like check for viruses at all...? 

[Eigenvektor]

2 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

do they like check for viruses at all...? 

GitHub hosts source code. It's kind of hard to scan for viruses. If you download and compile something, it might result in a virus. It's generally assumed that you review the source code before compiling/using it.

[igormp]

Just now, Mark Kaine said:

do they like check for viruses at all...? 

It's meant as a place for developers to host source code, version control it and share/colab with others, so it's kinda expected that you know how to program and are able to read other people code when you get into it.

 

So no, it doesn't check for viruses since it makes no sense to do so.

[tikker]

1 minute ago, Eigenvektor said:

GitHub hosts source code. It's kind of hard to scan for viruses. If you download and compile something, it might result in a virus. It's generally assumed that you review the source code before compiling/using it.

 

1 minute ago, igormp said:

It's meant as a place for developers to host source code, version control it and share/colab with others, so it's kinda expected that you know how to program and are able to read other people code when you get into it.

 

So no, it doesn't check for viruses since it makes no sense to do so.

Fun fact, there even are repositories dedicated to collecting malware, so no they don't (I would link them, but not sure if that's against CS or smart). Indeed if you don't trust it, don't run it. Goes for any software, not just github.

[Guest]

If you want to install python it is simple

download and install latest windows installer

https://www.python.org/downloads/release/python-391/

Run the installer (select install for all users, add to path)

When finished open cmd prompt and type "python"
You should get a response like this:

 

Python 3.8.2 (tags/v3.8.2:7b3ab59, Feb 25 2020, 22:45:29) [MSC v.1916 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>>

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, igormp said:

It's meant as a place for developers to host source code, version control it and share/colab with others

that may be, but it's not necessarily used like that - just because I download some hack to change the camera in my game doesn't make me necessarily a developer... 

 

And as such for the average user the site, unlike for example Nexus which scans at least most files for viruses, is inherently unsecure... 

 

And also you're usually encouraged to download an installer or package, not the source code as source code would be literally useless for the average gamer. 

 

 

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, Eigenvektor said:

GitHub hosts source code. It's kind of hard to scan for viruses. If you download and compile something, it might result in a virus. It's generally assumed that you review the source code before compiling/using it.

look im not saying it's super unsafe, just its a site most people avoid like the plague for a reason - you're basically on your own and instructions are usually cryptic at best. 

 

And I just think since Microsoft bought it and their motto is security over everything they could at least offer anti virus scans? 

[igormp]

55 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

that may be, but it's not necessarily used like that - just because I download some hack to change the camera in my game doesn't make me necessarily a developer... 

Then you're in the wrong place.

 

50 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

And I just think since Microsoft bought it and their motto is security over everything they could at least offer anti virus scans? 

That makes no sense since I bet most of github's user base doesn't even use windows.

[Eigenvektor]

17 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

look im not saying it's super unsafe, just its a site most people avoid like the plague for a reason - you're basically on your own and instructions are usually cryptic at best. 

 

And I just think since Microsoft bought it and their motto is security over everything they could at least offer anti virus scans? 

Source code is just text. Scanning it for viruses does not make much sense. Yes, you could compile/run the source code found on every repository hosted on GitHub and then test whether the binary that is generated is a virus or otherwise harmful, but that would be a huge amount of work. As you said, the instructions are sometimes cryptic, not every repository has build instructions, much less automatic builds.

 

As @tikker pointed out, some repositories host the source code of malware on purpose. They are usually intended for security researchers, anti-virus developers or OS developers but of course they can also be abused for other purposes.

 

GitHub is a site by software developers for software developers. It is not targeted at everyday users.

 

Some developers take a little shortcut and instead of e.g. providing compiled binaries for download on their own website, they simply link people to their GitHub repository. Means they don't have to host a website, offer downloads, etc. Also means you get a chance to look at the source code instead of trusting a random binary. Downside would be that you have to figure out how to build it yourself.

 

17 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

And also you're usually encouraged to download an installer or package, not the source code as source code would be literally useless for the average gamer.

Absolutely. Providing an installer is the professional thing to do. But not every developer has the time, resources and motivation to create an installer on top of such a hack. They're possibly a gamer with just enough developer skills to create a hack but not much else and not someone who develops code as a profession.

[Mark Kaine]

26 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Some developers take a little shortcut and instead of e.g. providing compiled binaries for download on their own website, they simply link people to their GitHub repository. Means they don't have to host a website, offer downloads, etc. Also means you get a chance to look at the source code instead of trusting a random binary. Downside would be that you have to figure out how to build it yourself.

yeah i get the feeling in this case *for example* it would have been much better the "dev" (they're called "authors" usually which often isn't correct either, they're just modders lol) could have embedded (I think?) the whole python thing then it (the mod) would be much easier to install... but of course it's quicker and easier to just say "install this unupdated version of python, and good luck lol" for him. 

 

 

26 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

GitHub is a site by software developers for software developers. It is not targeted at everyday users.

I appreciate the explanation, but as I said above it's not necessarily how it's used, there are a tons of mods, for whatever reason (probably because it's easy to host, better than google or mega I guess, but that's speculation) and these generally aren't the source code, it's just programs, or textures, or 'cheat engine*' stuff etc... so those could probably be scanned easily - which I do anyway, just saying... 

 

it's true modders do this often because they want to share their work and let others possibly improve it or use it for another mod altogether, point is, to me the source code is irrelevant, it's just another file hosting site and the lack of protection is at least, remarkable. : P

 

 

*btw I've never used it to 'cheat' but it's an interesting program as you can do a lot of stuff with it like character swaps, or indeed camera changes (which could be used as cheat admittedly) 

but *if* I wanna cheat (rarely ever lol) there are usually already 'cheat mods' that are way easier to use than cheat engine - which by itself is quite complicated and 'cryptic'... 

 

Edit:  maybe seems unrelated but isn't really - really funny video about mods and cheats and how you just basically cheat yourself using cheats (which is why I basically never do it) I guess it's funnier if you've actually played the game, 10/10 video tho.