diff --git a/engine/findprograms.py b/engine/findprograms.py
index 225f2a0..3456b8f 100644
--- a/engine/findprograms.py
+++ b/engine/findprograms.py
@@ -100,7 +100,11 @@ class SupportedProgramsDatabase(object):
                 pass
             for f in basePath.glob('**/*'):
                 if f.is_file() and f.suffix == ".desktop":
-                    desktopEntry = xdg.DesktopEntry.DesktopEntry(f)
+                    try: #the xdg lib will still raise errors when encountering a malformed .desktop file
+                        desktopEntry = xdg.DesktopEntry.DesktopEntry(f)
+                    except Exception as e:
+                        logger.error(f"Desktop file {f} has problems: {e}")
+                        continue
 
                     """
                     #Don't validate. This is over-zealous and will mark deprecation and unknown categories.