Virus scan of attachments?
Are the forums set to do virus scans of attachments?
Our members, all writers who post stories to trade critiques, have been having a problem with hidden codes in MS Word causing errors in their posts when they copy and paste stories. I've run into this problem before on forums and there are work arounds.
One solution is to post the stories as attachments. No one minds doing that, but there is some concern about the unknowing transmission of viruses.
Can someone tell me if the attachments are scanned for viruses? Or is that solely left to the individual? I am concerned that perhaps not everyone's virus scan automatically scans attachments when they downloaded. Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.
Not sure about scanning attachments but I would insist the member use RTF as this removes WORD BASIC/VBA Code from the file.
I am concerned that perhaps not everyone's virus scan automatically scans attachments when they downloaded. Any information or suggestions would be appreciated.
-jrtomlin
Without trying to sound flippant, maybe they should take the time to learn how to use their AV. Anyone who regularly downloads from the net without scanning for viruses is going to be infected sooner or later.
Not sure about scanning attachments but I would insist the member use RTF as this removes WORD BASIC/VBA Code from the file.
-hal9000
Actually RTF doesn't strip all the code. I can assure you of that. TXT does.
There is no reason you should know, but RTF files are fairly standard in publishing since it is a file type acceptable to all publishers who accept files.
Without trying to sound flippant, maybe they should take the time to learn how to use their AV. Anyone who regularly downloads from the net without scanning for viruses is going to be infected sooner or later.
-coloneljack
You manage to sound both flippant and uncaring without trying then.
I have some responsibility to my members to let them know what is safe and I take that responsibility seriously.
Can ANYONE actually answer my question?
I am not interested in discussing anyone else's OS or application preferences, nor am I going to discuss my own. I want an answer to a relatively simple question.
Hi jrtomlin, I work at lefora.
The answer is, no, currently we do not automatically scan attachments for viruses.
Also as a side note, we're constantly looking into that annoying behavior on the copy and paste from Word and the likes, where 'hidden' data gets through. Bit of a never ending battle, but we're trying.
[If your not needing font styles, you can paste it as plain text, by pasting to notepad and copying again from there - very annoying we know, but it works].
Thanks, cookies. I'm acquainted with the paste to notepad trick because I've run into the same problem on other forums. It's definitely not the fault of the lefora and I'm not blaming you.
Because a critique forum like ours involves large amounts of text pasted, we immediately started having problems with it though and I wanted to let the members know the full details on the options for a work around.
I'll let them know that attachments aren't scanned for viruses. Anyone who isn't comfortable with that can use the method you suggested.
Thanks again.
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