# How do I send people complete programs that include .exe files? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602 "2022-04-10T00:53:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/21 "2022-04-10T10:07:22Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Does anyone know if you can ZIP a Zip file? Would that work? I have seen Tarball files in Zip files. > [@scabpicker](#): > > I doubt that it would. The product I support can generally handle several types of archives. As long as they aren’t password protected, it can process them several levels deep. I highly recommend unzipping this file: [http://swtch.com/r.zip](http://swtch.com/r.zip) Or this one: [https://alf.nu/s/droste.zip](https://alf.nu/s/droste.zip) PS if you can’t email a file because it is filtered for some reason, you could upload it somewhere (temporarily or semi-permanently) and share the link. There are also tools like Bittorrent sync and similar that enable you to share a directory in which you can put whatever you want. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/22 "2022-04-10T14:06:06Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > I highly recommend unzipping this file: [http://swtch.com/r.zip](http://swtch.com/r.zip) It stops at a certain number of nested files. Didn’t bother downloading the other. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/23 "2022-04-10T14:40:31Z")
I’ve had this problem, until I hit on the perfect solution to keep the systems from thinking I’m sending a virus. I change the extension from .exe to .virus and it has worked every time! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/24 "2022-04-10T14:58:04Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > As others have mentioned, just use 7Zip. Free, no nag screens, works well, easy to use, you can even use it to make ZIP files. And the UI is a steaming pile of shit. I despise when I get a file in the 7zip format and have to break out that piece of garbage. Actualy, I had a brain fart earlier. It is _WinRar_ that I have used for around 25 years (I still use a 20 or so year old version of it). Not only do I have no need to replace it, I have no need to upgrade it. (I do actually have a legit, legal key for it, but I haven’t searched it down after the latest install several years ago because the nag screen is so inconsequential.) ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/25 "2022-04-10T15:02:57Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And the UI is a steaming pile of shit. I right-click on the file, choose “Extract Here” and it is done. That is a bad UI? How could it be easier? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/26 "2022-04-10T15:08:33Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I right-click on the file, choose “Extract Here” and it is done. > > That is a bad UI? > > How could it be easier? Back when I was using it, it had a clunky, non-standard UI, like it had been ported over from the Amiga OS or something. ETA: Thinking about it more, one of my problems was the versions I used didn’t have a right-click menu item. When you had a 7zip, you had to open the 7zip program and manuver to wherever the file is located with its terrible UI, then open it from within 7zip. (This was maybe 15 years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/27 "2022-04-10T15:13:38Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > > [@DPRK](#): > > > > I highly recommend unzipping this file: [http://swtch.com/r.zip](http://swtch.com/r.zip) > > It stops at a certain number of nested files. Didn’t bother downloading the other. Sorry, answered before I had my caffeine. The reason the product stops is: a nested zip such as this isn’t really an effective attack. After several levels of opening archives, even the most dedicated mark is going to get tired of the game. > [@Napier](#): > > I’ve had this problem, until I hit on the perfect solution to keep the systems from thinking I’m sending a virus. I change the extension from .exe to .virus and it has worked every time! This would get caught by the product I support for several different reasons. Might work against really poor ones that are working off the file name, though. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/28 "2022-04-10T15:14:51Z")
This is what it looks like now with a right-click menu from File Explorer: [![](https://i.imgur.com/NyUWpEU.png) ](https://i.imgur.com/NyUWpEU.png) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/29 "2022-04-10T15:40:14Z")
Good to know that when you describe issues with 7Zip in the present tense, you’re actually referring to fifteen years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/30 "2022-04-10T16:02:33Z")
Actually, I know of an algorithm that will sometimes decrease the size of a file, and never increase it, in such a way that, with enough applications of the algorithm, the file will eventually become arbitrarily small. Of course, the catch is that, to unpack it correctly, you need to know exactly how many times to apply the reverse algorithm. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/31 "2022-04-10T16:20:44Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Sorry, answered before I had my caffeine. The reason the product stops is: a nested zip such as this isn’t really an effective attack. After several levels of opening archives, even the most dedicated mark is going to get tired of the game. It’s not supposed to be an attack so much as an example of a zip file that, besides possibly other files, contains a copy of itself. Therefore it contains _infinitely_ many levels of archives, if you want to think about it like that, so that any anti-virus program that attempts to scan it will have to give up sooner or later. This trick will not mask any contents (malicious or otherwise), of course, because any actual data must appear after a finite number of levels. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/32 "2022-04-10T16:23:43Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > This trick will not mask any contents (malicious or otherwise), of course, because any actual data must appear after a finite number of levels. Yeah, and it’s easier just to password protect the archive. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/33 "2022-04-10T19:01:07Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > It’s been years since I had to do this. What I recall doing: > > Rename the .EXE file to some other name. Zip it up with all the other files to be sent. (I was doing this back in the PKZIP days.) Tell the other person to unzip the zip file and rename the file back to be a .EXE It’s also been years since I tried this, but I think we tried renaming the .exe file. Another thing we tried was encrypting the zip file. Also, if the sender is the one with a Gmail account, they automatically have a Google Drive account and could share the documents there. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/34 "2022-04-10T19:42:51Z")
What is the detection beyond “potentially harmful file”? If it matches some pattern then renaming it will not help; encrypting the archive with a password will, though ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/35 "2022-04-10T19:59:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, I know of an algorithm that will sometimes decrease the size of a file, and never increase it, in such a way that, with enough applications of the algorithm, the file will eventually become arbitrarily small. I have a program that is guaranteed to decrease the size of your file every time. For convenience, it even encrypts your file and gives you a “randomly” generated password for decryption. The password is just the first N bytes of the file. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/36 "2022-04-11T04:59:17Z")
Maybe it’s just the higher level security that commercial users get with their enterprise solutions but… Anything executable is blocked. (Including java etc.) Anything that is an executable but just renamed, is detected and blocked. ZIP files with executables inside are blocked. Encrypted files are sometimes blocked. Windows will warn you about files downloaded from the internet… my Office programs make me explicitly enable even editing. Basically, most businesses don’t want you receiving and downloading executable files. Even if you think they are harmless - are they? Most programs are written with a collection of library modules - and the programmer has no definite knowledge what is in those libraries - even if not intentional malicious software, they may allow entry via a failing in the software - the old PDF and JPG libraries vulnerabilities come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![QMatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/aeb1de/32.png) [@QMatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QMatic)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/37 "2022-04-11T09:43:45Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Many years ago, a friend of mine wrote a simple program that will translate English text into the text of the language. If the program really is simple then the best solution would be to get somebody to reimplement it in javascript and embed it in a web page. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/38 "2022-04-11T10:10:32Z")
I doubt this is a commercial thing. He or she just said g-mail was dumping the program into the spam folder or otherwise blocking it. Sometimes it is not that hard to bypass restrictions imposed on corporate laptops, but why bother? You’ll just get fired. Better to put the games and movies on your personal computer. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/39 "2022-04-11T22:45:44Z")
One thing is that when I send a file (executable or not) to someone I know, I always attach it to a personal note of the sort, “Margie sends her best wishes. And how is Evelyn?” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602/40 "2022-04-18T21:32:43Z")
When i send a file, i usually actually send a link to where i put the file online. ([Puzzlegal.us/yourname/file](http://Puzzlegal.us/yourname/file), typically) And i say exactly what the file is. Never had a problem. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-send-people-complete-programs-that-include-exe-files/962602.md?page=1)