I've downloaded literally hundreds of games off of itch and I've never encountered a single virus.
Unless you're deliberately downloading dozens of extremely shady .exe files with the sole aim of getting a virus, you're very unlikely to actually get one, and even then you're still unlikely to get one.
And even if you do get a virus, if you have a half-decent anti-virus, you'll be safe.
Itch.io can host viruses. This isn't disputable. It's a fact.
I don't care to entertain your personal experiences, assumptions or accusations. I'll call it naive and leave it at that.
The fact remains. Is Itch.io perfectly safe? Absolutely not.
So my comment stands in it's entirety.
That aside - Let's address your final paragraph.
If it's gets to the point where your anti-virus needs to be actively preventing the virus then you've already failed to protect yourself. You've just had a gun pointed to your head and the trigger pulled, but the gun jammed. Do you consider that safe? I certainly don't.
Do your due diligence people.
It's not much in this day and age. Even trusted developers can be compromised. Don't just run every single .exe you download...
At the very minimum, you should be scanning the file prior to executing it. It takes literally seconds.
Anti-Viruses aren't fool proof solutions either. So you shouldn't rely on it as your last line of defence. If you have the know how, set up a sandbox and test new installs there first.
Plus, for the record - one of the viruses I downloaded from Itch.io had the capability to add itself to the Exclusion list for Windows Defender. It also disguised itself as a windows program amongst various other 'features' it had. Point being; It would bypass the bare minimum of security that most PCs will have by default. Which is already going to be a huge infection success rate.
The claim Itch.io is safe or that you'd be safe downloading viruses anyway because you should have an anti-virus is so extremely wrong, it's not just stupid it's dangerous and criminally neglient.
All of this though? Besides the point. My original comment you somehow took issue with is 1000% correct and still stands.
Itch.io is NOT perfectly safe. So check your downloads.
I guess I jumped the gun and got a bit defensive, however, I don't honestly think that itch doesn't have a single virus anywhere. People can upload any file they want, so they totally could upload a virus.
However, I've been kicking around on itch for just about 5 years now. I know that Itch isn't a minefield with a virus in every other download. As long as you're cautious about what you download, you should be fine.
Also, if you do encounter a virus, do the right thing and report it as such.
I'll also note, you told people to go and use a sandbox. The itch app does that by default. For the record, that is what I do most of the time, and I recommend it.Windows Defender should never be used as a last line of defence, I agree, however that's only because any virus that gets off the ground has to be able to bypass it in the first place.
I use Malwarebytes. It is a very good option and is extremely effective at blocking malicious files. Also, Firefox should be noted. Firefox stops you from even opening a downloaded file if it thinks it's suspicious. I'll admit, Firefox isn't a good last line of defence, although it's better than nothing.
Malwarebytes, as far as I can tell, doesn't give a damn about what Windows Defender thinks is okay, since it has its own database. So that sneaky Windows Defender evader would've been obliterated.
Neither Malwarebytes nor Firefox have ever blocked a single thing from itch, although they have protected me in the past on other sites.
Also, your analogy of the anti-virus being like a jammed gun is a little unfair, I'd like to think of it as a lock. Stopping the average joe from breaking in and doing as they please.
A bad anti-virus is a bad lock.
A good anti-virus is a good lock.
Also just to end off, my goal wasn't to start an argument. I understand what I wrote was a little passive-aggressive, but I was just stating my experience, not necessarily trying to downplay yours. I apologise if it sounded that way.