diff --git a/Lidgren.Network/NetBuffer.Read.cs b/Lidgren.Network/NetBuffer.Read.cs
index 52338448..7d903099 100644
--- a/Lidgren.Network/NetBuffer.Read.cs
+++ b/Lidgren.Network/NetBuffer.Read.cs
@@ -566,7 +566,7 @@ public string ReadString()
 				throw new NetException(c_readOverflowError);
 #else
 				m_readPosition = m_bitLength;
-				return null; // unfortunate; but we need to protect against DDOS
+				return ""; // unfortunate; but we need to protect against DDOS
 #endif
 			}