How safe are HTML5 games?

If you're playing online from a browser, there would presumably be no malicious executable on the local device for the app to execute in the first place. My concern was for an NW.js app that is downloaded to be run locally, which could potentially be bundled with additional executable files.

On the other hand, you're already downloading an executable in the form of the NW.js app and running it anyways, so it's not really a big difference in the end.

There are better things to worry about regarding children online.

Also a malicious exe would often be more dangerous when it has admin privileges (I.e a window will appear asking for the admin password for the computer before it runs). Of course there's occasional exploits found that could be malicious even without admin password, but as long as Windows is kept up-to-date, you're often safe.

A child shouldn't be admin on a computer as a child could do some wild stuff like delete system files themselves and such.

If you're downloading something and running it, it's potentially harmful, however unlikely. This is true for any game (or program attachment, ect.), of any type.

If you're running a game in a browser off a website, you're pretty safe as long as you have the common sense not to download and run things you don't trust to be safe.

Maybe there's confusion about the thread linked:, that thread is about nwjs, which is an EXE version of a html5 games, usually would find these to be distributed via steam - steam having a paid entry fee and someone who attempted to upload a malicious game would lose money and be banned for ever attempting that, never once heard of it happening, so that's the reassuring case for an EXE downloadable html5 game.

If someone, even an adult, downloads an exe from a friend or unusual website, and they aren't familiar with computers, always used admin account, AND it happened to be an extremely new malicious method that Microsoft haven't seen before (Where Microsoft have dedicated team who are extremely vigilent about updating Windows defender regularly), then yeah they may have their computer compromised.

A html5 game in the Web browser, like oosyrag mentions, is safe, a lot safer than an exe file, Web browsers have many manny protections in place, many restrictions (cannot run exe from html5 Web browser game).