I know it’s quite dumb to post a link in a thread asking if I can post the link, but I figure it’s better to get bitched out here than in GQ…
Anyway, the link is http://www.wotch.com/images/promos/users/funpages/thehand/Scrap.shs, which prompts the browser to ask if I want to save it or open it from its present location. I think the link is a program (it’s not any graphic format that I know of, anyway), but if it’s a virus or anything of the sort, I’d like to think that my copy Norton AV would have said something.
So what’s the SDMB policy of linking to (possible) executable files? I know it’s the age of viruses and worms, but this still looks pretty innocuous to me. (And, hey, my computer still works.)
When I clicked on your link, KKBattousai, the first thing Netscape 6.1 showed me was a download dialog box asking “do you want to download or open this file?” I didn’t bother downloading it, because I suspected it probably wouldn’t work on MacOS. I personally think it would be a bad idea to have that kind of link present in an SDMB thread. Instead, I would tell people “there is such and such a program available at such-and-such a site, you can get it by clicking on button X at the site”, and provide a link to the site.
FWIW, it worked fine for me. I’ve seen that graphic before. Stare at the dot in the center for one minute, rest your hand on your desk, then look at your hand. It’s a cool visual effect.
As to the OP, I doubt the mods will go for it, but I don’t have any reason why.
apparently, files with extension .shs are usually (but not always*) ‘scrap image files’ or ‘shell scrap files’ or something like that, they can contain embedded objects, including all kinds of nasties like .exe and .com files; I’m not sure if Macs are vulnerable to them.
*There are other file formats that also use the .shs extension, Secure Hash Standard is one of them.
This was benign, but you never know, so please don’t post anything that might be executable code on the board.
Annalamerino, thanks, going to the source and posting a link to the site in question is a much better thing to do. You always want to give people a choice to click or not.
If I correctly understand how these things work, then there should be no risk to the boards or server for the boards. There could be a risk for any individual who chooses to download it. This is just a transaction between the User’s browser, the file on the website, and if you say “yes”, to the place where you download the file. AFAIK we cannot download files to the Boards, per se.
And TubaDiva, it’s great to see your lovely virtual self around these parts again. It seems like a while. I hope all is well with you and yours.
ShibbOleth, that’s the point of forbidding it, minimizing risks to the users of the message board. If clicking on a link that you found at the SDMB would download a file that causes problems on your system in some way, some people will come complain to us saying “why did you let such a link be posted?” So we prefer that people indicate a link to a web page off the board to download the file.
KKBattousai, why do you say “I guess I’ll never learn how that illusion works”?
I agree that it makes sense to forbid, just some of the language in the previous posts imply that a link to an executable could somehow infect the boards themselves (physical software/hardware) versus the constituency of the boards (virtual community).
KKBattousai was, I believe, intending to post a link to the illusion and ask, “how’d they do that?” As annalamerino points out it should be sufficient to link to the site, with directions and a warning, that this is going to an executable, virus exposure at your own risk.
Why take a chance on screwing up the entire website’s server?