diff --git a/common/init.c b/common/init.c
index cc868646..689ebca4 100644
--- a/common/init.c
+++ b/common/init.c
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 // 19 april 2019
+// TODO get rid of the need for this (it temporarily silences noise so I can find actual build issues)
+#ifdef _MSC_VER
+#define _CRT_SECURE_NO_WARNINGS
+#endif
 #include <stdarg.h>
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <string.h>