diff --git a/code/_globalvars/regexes.dm b/code/_globalvars/regexes.dm
index 6f5205686af..7e571576213 100644
--- a/code/_globalvars/regexes.dm
+++ b/code/_globalvars/regexes.dm
@@ -15,4 +15,5 @@ GLOBAL_DATUM_INIT(angular_brackets, /regex, regex(@"[<>]", "g"))
 
 //All characters forbidden by filenames: ", \, \n, \t, /, ?, %, *, :, |, <, >, ..
 GLOBAL_DATUM_INIT(filename_forbidden_chars, /regex, regex(@{""|[\\\n\t/?%*:|<>]|\.\."}, "g"))
+GLOBAL_PROTECT(filename_forbidden_chars)
 // had to use the OR operator for quotes instead of putting them in the character class because it breaks the syntax highlighting otherwise.