diff --git a/make/defs.mk b/make/defs.mk
index 0f1b32db..43c675d7 100644
--- a/make/defs.mk
+++ b/make/defs.mk
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ HEX_VERSION            = $(shell echo $(DIST_VERSION) | \
 DEVELOPMENT           ?= $(shell echo $(VERSION) | grep -q 'dev' && echo true)
 USE_PROJECT_LIB       ?= true
 USE_YTOOLS            ?= true
+USE_EXCEPTIONS_IN_C   ?= true
 REENTRANT             ?= true
 USE_GFILTER           ?= true
 OS                    ?= $(shell sh $(MODDIR)/devutil/scripts/get_os.sh)
@@ -244,6 +245,11 @@ CFLAGS                += $(LOCAL_CFLAGS) $(PROJECT_CFLAGS) $(YLIB_CFLAGS) $(INCL
 CPPFLAGS              += $(LOCAL_CPPFLAGS) $(PROJECT_CPPFLAGS)  $(YLIB_CPPFLAGS) $(INCLUDE)  
 CORE                  += $(wildcard core core.* vgcore vgcore.*)
 
+ifeq ($(GCC_MAJOR),4)
+	CFLAGS        += -DGCC_HASCLASSVISIBILITY
+	CPPFLAGS      += -DGCC_HASCLASSVISIBILITY
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(USE_QT),true)
 	include $(MODDIR)/make/qt-defs.mk
 endif
@@ -460,6 +466,10 @@ ifeq ($(USE_COMPILER_OPTIMIZATION_OPTS),true)
 	CPPFLAGS    += -funroll-loops -O2
 endif
 
+ifeq ($(USE_EXCEPTIONS_IN_C),true)
+	CFLAGS      += -fexceptions
+endif
+
 ifeq ($(STRIP_SYMBOLS),true)
 	STRIP_DONE  ?= strip.done
 endif