Are Mods safe?

Most of them are safe. You just need to make sure the mods you download are up to date with the current game version and be careful where you download them from. Avoid sites that use AdFly cause it's not good.

I'm quite new to mods and have only used very popular ones so far - mccc, littlemisssam and zero's mods. Just small ones (I only use one tiny aspect of mccc).

All i did was download, scan with antivirus, unzip the folder and place the mod files into my sims mod folder. But there are detailed instructions around if needed. For example, the mccc mod site has full written instructions and also, I think, a video showing what to do.

Best to start with some smaller and simple mods just to test the waters if you're feeling it with them.

As per usual when you download something, always do a virus scan on them. Always best to download mods from their sources and not any 3rd party sites (Simsdom, etc.)
I tend to not use super big mods that have a lot of gameplay (like Sacrifical's mods when there's a patch update they tend to break until updated or they just bug pretty bad cause they have so much going on).

There is a chance some mods might conflict with one another. Like you don't want two mods in your game that do the same thing so you'd want to just keep one.

Bienchen does a lot of my favorite small mods and frequents the forums here.
https://deichschafblog.de/bienchen/

LittlemsSam also does a lot of small mods as well you might like.
https://littlemssam.tumblr.com/post/175435360448/mod-overview-list

MC command center probably the most used mod by many. Bit of a jack of all trades. Since you can do so much with it (bump up the cap for how many sims are around on a lot, so getting inheritance when someone dies, have bills higher or lower) and is user friendly at that. Not to mention there's a step by step document to tell you what does what as well.
https://deaderpool-mccc.com/#/releases

Here's a guide by Carl about installing Mods and CC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0TRT_aj8H0

"Sharonia;c-17829534" wrote:
Most of them are safe. You just need to make sure the mods you download are up to date with the current game version and be careful where you download them from. Avoid sites that use AdFly cause it's not good.

Agreed you want to avoid AdFly

I started with Mc Command Center and was on the fence about using mods for a while. I would recommend Slice of Life Wonderful Whims and MC Command Center first.

For the most part they're safe and what the others have said. Start off small with well known modders mentioned above and that the mods are up to date with the latest patch. I use MCCC, UI Cheats and mostly mods to tweak little things that bug me.

A couple of recent threads that might help with mod selection.

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/987337/your-5-most-essential-mods-besides-mcc-ui-cheats-and-meaningful-stories/p1

https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/984056/pc-players-what-mods-do-you-play-with/p1

If you use a solid adblocker browser addon like ublock origin (and set it to block popups if a site seems sus) that cuts out most of the concern of stuff leaking through from browsing ad-filled sites.

Sims 4 modders are usually using websites like tumblr, patreon, simfileshare, workupload, google drive, modthesims. Or in the case of CC, maybe stuff like thesimsresource.

These are all pretty trustworthy, IME (I think most of them probably scan for viruses when the person uploads a file), and the more modern OS's like windows 10 are probably gonna jump in and try to do a virus scan on what you download anyway. If you're extra worried, you could run virus protection in the background, but it might be overkill and could result in false positives if it's one of those awful ones like norton antivirus. I've had a pretty good experience with malwarebytes, though unfortunately it doesn't allow a full scan without paying anymore.

I would start here for first time mod users. They prescreen their mods for viruses and their requirements for uploading content is much higher than other sites. https://modthesims.info/

It is where I started and there are plenty of great guides and people on there.

Mods are safe - until they aren't. It's something you have to be aware of for this game. The update cycle is so quick that you have to pay attention and make sure to update your mods every single time there is an update for the game. Because a mod that is not updated can break your save and running your save without mods active also has the potential to break your save. To me, it's not worth the trouble of going through all that. 1 or 2 mods is ok, but when you have to update 10+ every month, it becomes a daunting task.

CC objects and clothes are ok to have and don't need constant updating. They do break every now and then, too, though.

Like others have said, if you are careful about what and where mods are definitely safe. I have 50-some mods in my game. I'm still running my years-old original save file with no issues and have never gotten a virus either. (Knock on wood! lol) I just make sure to check for updates before loading up my game.

Those updates are the biggest "problem" I have with mods, but what they add to my game makes it completely worth it. My advice is to bookmark the individual mod pages so you can get right back to each of them to check for updates.

I would try dipping your toe in with a small mod that adds a feature you want or fixes something that annoys you. I'd suggest UI Cheats as a first step. While I agree with others that MC Command Center (MCCC) is a must-have mod, it can definitely be a lot for a first time mod user to handle.