On 12:00 17 Jan 2002, David T-G <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: | % response to one I posted from [EMAIL PROTECTED] that had a virus | % attached to it (.mp3.pif). | That's just a Program Information File, or what Win uses to remember how | to run a DOS program. I wonder what "mp3" is... on that system, anyway.
Yep - the .mp3 is so it shows as a .mp3 on windows systems configured to "hide common extensions", which is the (stupid!) default. The idea is that the user sees ".mp3" and plays it. Which under windows doesn't mean "here, mp3 player, take this file" but instead means "here, OS, take this file and decide what to do with it". The OS sees the .pif and _runs_ it! And so the virus gets into the system. -- Cameron Simpson, DoD#743 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.zip.com.au/~cs/ On the one hand I knew that programs could have a compelling and deep logical beauty, on the other hand I was forced to admit that most programs are presented in a way fit for mechanical execution, but even if of any beauty at all, totally unfit for human appreciation. - Edsger W. Dijkstra
