New to this... Security and other noob questions

[courtelise]

So I set up my home server and it's up and running so far with no issues. I made some small modifications that were pretty obvious in the settings file such as enabling expansions, homepoint teleports and other minor items to eliminate some of the tedium.

I tried to find these answers via google, but am coming up short on solid answers.

1.) My biggest fear is security. I did note that others had issues with Virus Scanners and Firewalls rejecting Windower and Xiloader. I made exceptions for them, but will admit I'm rather nervous about doing so. Can I rest easy that these applications are safe? Last time I trusted an app, I regretted it.

2.) Is there an updated informational guide regarding how current the stock version is? What expansions and addons are complete? What's still being worked on? How active is this project in terms of updates?

I'll still do my own reading as time allows, but maybe you can point me to this information. I was rather excited to be able to knock out these story lines on my own or with maybe two other people, but it appears a lot may be still missing and it won't quite be what I anticipated when I created the server. That said... my final question... If I find I can't do what I wanted to do and want to resume my retail subscription, can I use the same install, just logging in via POL? Or am I playing with fire? Not looking forward to yet another fresh install, but it wouldn't be the end of the world I suppose.

[Delaide]

1. Yes. You can review the source code yourself if you need.
2. It is a little out of date, but you can check https://wiki.dspt.info/index.php/What_Works to see what currently works.

Last: You bypass POL, but yes, the DSP normally works with stock retail updates. Please note, there will be a gap between retail updates and DSP updates where things can get a little strange. Please check https://wiki.dspt.info/index.php/Config ... our_Client

[NiQ]

So I set up my home server and it's up and running so far with no issues. I made some small modifications that were pretty obvious in the settings file such as enabling expansions, homepoint teleports and other minor items to eliminate some of the tedium.

I tried to find these answers via google, but am coming up short on solid answers.

1.) My biggest fear is security. I did note that others had issues with Virus Scanners and Firewalls rejecting Windower and Xiloader. I made exceptions for them, but will admit I'm rather nervous about doing so. Can I rest easy that these applications are safe? Last time I trusted an app, I regretted it.

2.) Is there an updated informational guide regarding how current the stock version is? What expansions and addons are complete? What's still being worked on? How active is this project in terms of updates?

I'll still do my own reading as time allows, but maybe you can point me to this information. I was rather excited to be able to knock out these story lines on my own or with maybe two other people, but it appears a lot may be still missing and it won't quite be what I anticipated when I created the server. That said... my final question... If I find I can't do what I wanted to do and want to resume my retail subscription, can I use the same install, just logging in via POL? Or am I playing with fire? Not looking forward to yet another fresh install, but it wouldn't be the end of the world I suppose.

Regarding security - I've studied xiloader.exe's code a little bit. Basically it works by modifying FFXI's code in memory. This has to be done because FFXI has the list of POL's servers hard-coded and cannot connect to an arbitrary IP address unless modified to do so. There are some AV vendors which detect any modification of software in memory as malware activity (this is indeed something that some malware does) and flag xiloader as malware. This is a false alarm as long you download it from the official source.