Safe Executable for Internet

[davegee]

"Safe Executable for Internet"

Why do so few people seem to be using it? (Genuine question - not exasperated comment).

It is supposed to obviate the Anti Virus problems and yet I see very few examples of it being used in Downloads from Slideshowclub etc.

Does anyone know of an example of Anti Virus blocking a "Safe Executable for Internet"?

DG

[PGA]

Perhaps the "nanny state" got it wrong and the perceived threat isn't as prevalent as they feared. They forgot that when you play guessing games (as opposed to applying good analysis) you end up guessing wrong as often as you guess right. Too many false alarms won't have been good for business.

Peter

[Lin Evans]

Hi Dave,

Actually, on my Win 8.1 system I get a warning that the show may be a threat even though using the "web safe" version. I think perhaps that the built-in security on Win 8.1 is like the Mac - it sees everything as a threat, even digitally signed executables. It's "possible" that others have seen this and just assumed that if they are going to have to bypass the warning anyway that they might as well skip the extra step?

Best regards,

Lin

[davegee]

Hi Lin,

I use Microsoft Security Essentials and whilst it has, on a few occasions, stopped a threat which was nothing to do with a PTE File it has NEVER stopped a PTE file of either variety. I would argue that if your AV is warning about "Safe Executable for Internet" files then Igor should know about it in order to do something about it? Also if you are also using MSE and you get warnings and I don't - what is going on?

But my question was more about why people don't use "Safe Executable for Internet".

Is it ignorance of its existance and what it is designed to do?

Is it laziness (in the nicest possible way)?

Or is it perhaps that having to extract the folder and keep the two files together is a problem?

DG

[tom95521]

A few things that make me think twice before using this feature.

It's requires more effort and technical knowledge to unzip the file and then open the slideshow folder and then open another slideshow folder before playing the slideshow. I have mentioned to Igor I thought this folder in a folder was just an extra step that should be eliminated.

Another problem that is more specific to your question is that the Google Chrome download manager was detecting the files as malware and blocked the download even though the player is a signed app (problem not limited to safe executable for internet). I have not tested this for a few weeks so maybe Google no longer blocks the slideshows.

I have had issues in the past with dropbox and PTE slideshows. They were scanning my PTE files (OK), blocking sharing (OK), but not telling my why or what files were causing the problem (NOT OK). The error message said over quota which had nothing to do with the problem. I dropped them.

Personally I would like to see a PTE player application we could install on our PC and then just send data slideshows (like adobe acrobat reader). Then all of the AV scanners should not have a problem with the files (since there is no .exe code in the file). The problem with this method is sharing slideshows with relatives that have no idea how to install the player.

Who knows, maybe 4K video will be common in the future and the .exe slideshow format will gradually fade away?

Tom

[Lin Evans]

Hi Dave,

Are you running Win 8.1? 8.1 doesn't use Microsoft Security Essentials, that's considered "obsolete" by the new Windows. It has its own built-in security system which is ostensibly better than Security Essentials and it updates itself with regularity. I'll upload a web-safe PTE file and test it since I haven't done that since perhaps four updates ago. If it still balks and does not automatically recognize the "web-safe" file as safe, I'll notify Igor, but I doubt there is much that can be done about it. It's very much like the situation with Apple where the zipped native Mac PTE file on the latest Mac OS has to have operator intervention to load and run because the file isn't recognized as coming from the "Apple Store." Apple's "greed" (they want a piece of everyone's action) just makes it very inconvenient and as long as Apple users put up with that arrogance, it won't get any better in my opinion.

Best regards,

Lin

[davegee]

Hi Lin,

No, my PC came with W7 and I don't change OS during the life of a PC.

When it's no longer supported I will take it off line and use my new Laptop for Internet.

WSE was updated this morning.

DG

[davegee]

A few things that make me think twice before using this feature.

It's requires more effort and technical know how to unzip the file and then open the slideshow folder and then open another slideshow folder before playing the slideshow. I have mentioned to Igor I thought this folder in a folder was just an extra step that should be eliminated.

Tom

Hi Tom,

On this aspect I have always been puzzled by the variety of Unzipping methods.

Right Click on Zipped Folder - Choose Extract All - Done!

DG

[Guest Yachtsman1]

IMO the safe for internet exe is difficult if not impossible to open using a menu .

Yachtsman1.

[Ken Cox]

Dave

your comment's

"Is it laziness (in the nicest possible way)?

Or is it perhaps that having to extract the folder and keep the two files together is a problem?"

and Tom's are my feelings

if it is a virus avg wont open it

You wont go to mediafire because of the AD's yet how many of us have no problem with it

the internet safe exe is just as annoying

ken

[Lakelandlass]

Dave - I have a distant relative who is 90+ years and persists valiantly in trying to learn how to use the PC. She likes to download my shows and it is just one less step for her.

Maureen

[mhwarner]

I have Win 8.1 and run the built-in "Windows Defender" security/anti-virus protection. Mostly I use IE11 to browse. I usually get the following message but ONLY under the following circumstance: when downloading with IE11 there is a little status box thing at the bottom of the browser window which shows downloads in progress. After the download has completed, it gives you the option to "Open" the download. If I click on "Open" (I am talking about downloading a zip file here containing an executable), I see a blue overlay that says "Windows protected your PC .. Windows SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting. Running this app might put your PC at risk." There is a "More info" link which you can then click on which allows you to open or run the program anyway.

However, if I ignore the download status box and go directly to the folder where I have downloaded the zip file, I can open it and run the PTE executable with no warnings or messages. So I don't need to extract the executable from the folder. In the case of the "internet safe" PTE files, I have no choice but to extract both included files before I can click on the .EXE to run them. To me, that is more of an annoyance and although I haven't yet uploaded any files to Slideshow Club, the ones I make for distribution to friends are made with straight single .EXE files to avoid extra steps in viewing the files.

[Lin Evans]

Hi Mary,

I had suspicions that this might be part of the reason some are not using the "web-safe" version. I don't use I.E. on my 8.1 system, but I get the same warning from Chrome (or perhaps it's coming from the OS through both Chrome and IE).

Best regards,

Lin

[tom95521]

Hi Tom,

On this aspect I have always been puzzled by the variety of Unzipping methods.

Right Click on Zipped Folder - Choose Extract All - Done!

DG

Hi Dave,

Extracting a zip file is an extra step that most of us do without thinking but I know computer users (not PTE users) who would not be able to do this..

When I zip files together it does not create a folder in a folder. I don't understand the technical reason why PTE does this.

Tom

[davegee]

I assume it is because the two files contained within the resulting folder need to stay together?

Moving the folder (as opposed to moving the individual files) maintains the link between them?

DG

[tom95521]

I suppose if someone renamed the zip file after it was created by PTE and then extracted it could cause a problem? I think the player should automatically look in the current working directory for the .pteshow file without having to know the name of the folder? It's just something that I think software should be able to figure out without requiring a folder in a folder.

I must confess that the smallest things bug me when most people hardly notice them.

Tom

[davegee]

Dave - I have a distant relative who is 90+ years and persists valiantly in trying to learn how to use the PC. She likes to download my shows and it is just one less step for her.

Maureen

Hi Maureen,

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. That's a special case - you're allowed .

However, consider this using the same 92 yr old as an example: what if the Anti Virus gave a "false positive" to the "unsafe" version - how would she cope with that?

Us old timers are a pretty savvy lot - tell us once and it's permanently locked away in some far off corner of the mind.

DG

[davegee]

I suppose if someone renamed the zip file after it was created by PTE and then extracted it could cause a problem? I think the player should automatically look in the current working directory for the .pteshow file without having to know the name of the folder? It's just something that I think software should be able to figure out without requiring a folder in a folder.

I must confess that the smallest things bug me when most people hardly notice them.

Tom

Your middle name is not Gary - is it?

DG

[tom95521]

Your middle name is not Gary - is it?

DG

You must be referring to Gary (Goddi). Although I don't know him we are both located "across the pond".

Tom

[Lakelandlass]

Hi Dave

Guess she would 'phone a friend'. She usually does.

Maureen

[PGA]

IMO the safe for internet exe is difficult if not impossible to open using a menu .

Yachtsman1.

Difficult, yes. Impossible, no!

I have just carried out a test as follows:

• I set up a new folder called "Safe Menu (Develop)
• In this folder I built two simple sequences (Seq#1 and Seq#2) and published them both as "Safe Executable File for Internet"
• In the same folder I also built a Menu sequence that used two text objects to launch the two target sequences and Published that as a "Safe Executable..."

Within the Menu, I had used "Run Application or Open File..." on both Text objects and had directed this action to apply to Seq#1.exe and Seq#2.exe respectively (N.B. only the file name was entered - no drive and path). I then continued as follows:

• I set up a new folder called "Safe Menu (Delivery)"
• I then accessed each zip file in turn and copied the two files (.exe and .ptshow) from each zip into the "Safe Menu (Delivery)" folder. I thus ended up with six files in that folder
• To ensure that my development environment was not affecting the run time environment, I then "Cut" the entire "Safe Menu (Develop)" folder and pasted it onto a USB thumb drive, which I then removed from the USB port.

When I then launched the Menu.exe by double-click I was able to launch each of the target sequences by single click on the relevant text object. Apart from the extra and necessary steps of creating a runtime folder and copying the pairs of files into it, the approach is no different to using "unsafe executable" files.

I can see no logical reason why the contents of the "Safe Menu (Delivery)" folder cannot now be zipped and uploaded to, say, Dropbox ready to be downloaded and unzipped just like any other set of files. In fact, I'll do that and come back to this topic with a post containing the Dropbox URL so that somebody can verify that everything does work properly (or not as the case might prove to be).

regards,

Peter

[PGA]

Here we go! Try this: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15623351/SafeMenu.zip

Peter

[davegee]

Peter,

Having some problems with this.

Sequ#1 will run albeit with the Security Warning box appearing.

Sequ#2 will not run.

Transferring to W7 PC to try there.

A question - why did you put all of the files in one folder? My first instinct would be to keep the three folder structure. Just asking.

I think I know why.

DG

[davegee]

Runs fine on W7 PC.

Refuses to work on a Vista Laptop.

????????

DG

[davegee]

P.S. If I untick the "Always Ask" box in the security warning it opens OK subsequently.

DG