The website I deleted at the bottom of this post has the form http://www....com/../xx.scr. Does this mean it loads down a screen saver automatically? Can't *.scr files carry virus? Just curious. Of course, if I were REALLY curious I would have tried it.
> The website I deleted at the bottom of this post has the form > http://www....com/../xx.scr. Does this mean it loads down a screen saver > automatically? Can't *.scr files carry virus? Just curious. Of course, if > I were REALLY curious I would have tried it.
> The website I deleted at the bottom of this post has the form > http://www....com/../xx.scr. Does this mean it loads down a screen saver > automatically? Can't *.scr files carry virus?
a .scr is nothing more than a windows executable. yes it most definitely can (and probably does) carry a virus
Sorry, I wasn't clear. What I meant was, can accessing a URL with it's name ending in "....scr" cause the automatic downloading and activation of an .scr file? I realize .scr files can carry virus, but would it activate automatically or would I first have to do something more than simply clicking on the URL?
Walter
"John Popelish" <jpopel...@rica.net> wrote in message
> > The website I deleted at the bottom of this post has the form > > http://www....com/../xx.scr. Does this mean it loads down a screen saver > > automatically? Can't *.scr files carry virus? Just curious. Of course, if > > I were REALLY curious I would have tried it.
> Sorry, I wasn't clear. What I meant was, can accessing a URL with it's name > ending in "....scr" cause the automatic downloading and activation of an > .scr file? I realize .scr files can carry virus, but would it activate > automatically or would I first have to do something more than simply > clicking on the URL?
With many news readers and email readers, clicking on such a link executes the program.
In article <aj3dc.47942$Ig.45905@pd7tw2no>, Walter Driedger wrote: >The website I deleted at the bottom of this post has the form >http://www....com/../xx.scr. Does this mean it loads down a screen saver >automatically? Can't *.scr files carry virus? Just curious. Of course, if >I were REALLY curious I would have tried it.
Yes, .scr files can be/have virii. An .scr is similar to an .exe.
Other executable file types for Windows systems are .com ("command", a lower level sort of executable file), .bat ("batch of DOS instructions"), and .pif ("program information file", for "launching" an .exe or a .com with usually passing on some specified parameters). One problem that I have heard of with Microsoft operating systems is that they "launch" executable files according to the type they are, even if that does not match the type indicated by the extension part of their names. For example, a file with the extension .pif or .scr can actually be an .exe and executed as an .exe file. I have even heard of risk with attached files showing extensions or especially MIME-"wrapper" indications ("x-[type]") being forged to something that looks more innocent, while the file is actually an .exe or a .com and gets executed as such.
Also beware of unsolicited .zip files - those are .zip-compressed files of any type, so you do not want your .zip decompressor to actually "open" (which may include execute if executable) attached .zip files without your per-file OK.
Another thing to beware of is multiple extensions, such as goodmusic.mp3.pif - an unsolicited file along those lines is likely to be a .pif (or actually an .exe being falsely "extension-named" as a .pif) rather than an mp3.
