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ANSWERS.TXT
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1993-05-06
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Q. How do I register this fine tester?
A. Registration in the traditional sense is not required. However, if you
really wish to do something for the author, The following is what I
would like to see. Make the file FREE on your BBS (No Points/No Ratio).
Make it FREQ'able if you are part of a net. If you are on a BBS that
doesn't have it available, upload it there (ESPECIALLY foreign
countries). If you have comments or suggestions, send them to me
through Telenet Canada. If you're really ambitious, send them through
Fido Net at 1:259/423 (attention David Muir). And above all, encourage
people to use it.
Q. Why don't you ask for money?
A. I have been asked this question many times. I have two reasons for this
apparent lack of logic. First how many worthwhile things will a
complete stranger do for you absolutely free? (I am not a sysop and
have almost no use for the majority of the things which THD ProScan is
capable of doing.) Also since it has yet to be "perfect", it is not
worthy of cash donations. I wouldn't ask you for money for something
that is less than perfect. So when it does become "perfect", it will
have been so close to perfect in the release prior, that it won't be
worth paying for the minor differences.
Q. When and why does THD Move/Rename files?
A. THD ProScan was initially intended for and designed around TELEGARD. In
so doing it's main purpose was to test files and it's secondary purpose
was to save all files in the case where the file may have failed for a
reason unknown or a bad configuration. In that respect THD was designed
not only to not delete files but to avoid letting TG delete them for
any reason except for the CRC failure. THD will attempt to move any
file that fails for a reason OTHER than a CRC error. Where that file
exists already, it will move and rename the file. If that name already
exists, it will rename the file where it is and leave it there. While
this may seem like a lot of trouble to some, You might not think so if
you set up this wonderful new tester incorrectly and suddenly found
your BBS deleting all uploads because of a bad path in your THD
configuration.
Q. Can I stop THD from Moving/Renaming files?
A. YES. With version 6 and all future versions, THDINSTL will accept a
parameter of "/NOMOVE" and alter the THDPRO.EXE file to not perform
the move/rename operation. The default is to reset the move/rename
option each time THDINSTL.EXE is run and failure to supply the /NOMOVE
on each running will result in the move option being restored. No sign
will be given that this option is active or inactive, so use it
cautiously.
Q. Why are the version numbers always ".0"?
A. I have decided to stick with whole numbers for each new release. The
"." is reserved for use in patch files as was the case with version
5.1. At least this way, when you see version 7 you will know that there
have not been 100 "point" versions before it. Also each version number
used is accounted for in the HISTORY.DOC, as are all the bugs found and
fixed to date.
Q. Can I change the options used by SCAN.EXE or the archivers?
A. NO!
Q. Why not?
A. The reason for making this tester in the first place was because of the
way (literally all) other upload testers handled the options. Those
who left them configurable, handed the BBS user keys to your system, as
did most of those who did not let you configure them. The options I use
in THD Proscan are the ones I would use IF I ran a BBS. THD is the ONLY
tester I could not find a simple way to break into a BBS. If I allow
the options to be modified, Then I allow people who do not know the
methods used to break into BBSes a chance to turn my tester into a back
door.
Q. You always emphasize the "SAFE" aspect of this tester, Is it really
that safe?
A. I cannot say that there is no way to get past it. However, I can say
that I have not been able to do so and have never heard of anyone doing
so. I have however tested a number of other upload testers and been
successful in EVERY attempt at getting past them. I am not saying that
it is impenetrable, only that I don't know any way. But be warned...
"Locks are for honest people. Real thieves can break into almost
anything."
Q. Why do I even need an upload tester?
A. You don't... It is simply a convenient way to test files while the user
is online. If you wish to test all files manually that is your option.
If you wish to trust another tester, that too is your option. But if
you are at all unsure as to the security offered by other testers, use
this one. If you find a back door in my tester, tell me. I will fix it.
If I can't, I will stop programming it.
Q. What options DOES this tester use for the archives?
A. Basically it uses those options required to recreate all subdirectory
structures without allowing the use of the root directory. It does not
allow any overwrites.
Q. Why no overwrites?
A. Many testers allow overwrites as a way to stop archivers from prompting
the sysop, I simply create an environment where this will never occur.
Allowing overwrites could let a virus get past the tester by having two
files with the same name, My tester will expand both those files and
test both those files, while some other testers will let the virus free
file overwrite the infected file and lose the ability to detect the
virus in the first one.
Q. So no viruses get past this tester?
A. No viruses that can be detected by your version of McAfee's Viruscan.
Unknown viruses or viruses not yet detectable by your version of
SCAN.EXE may still get by, but they are few and far between. Also in
this version the heuristic testing can aid in detecting unknown
viruses.
Q. Why do you insist on McAfee's SCAN.EXE?
A. While no scanner is perfect, None is so widely available and frequently
updated as is SCAN.EXE by McAfee. Others may be prettier and have some
nice goodies with them, but I would trust McAfee on my system above all
others and therefore am only giving you what "I" would use.
Q. Why are TBSCAN and F-PROT not used for the standard virus scanning?
A. At this point in time, I am not comfortable enough with the use of
those two testers to use them in this capacity. However, in future,
they may be an alternative. This will have to wait until I know the
testers a little better.
Q. The Ansi screen takes too long. Can it be aborted?
A. No. It is interactive and must complete in order for the indictors to
make any sense. Users not wishing to see it could disable their own
ansi, thus causing the ASCII output to occur.
Q. Sometimes my users don't get the ansi screen. Why?
A. The program allots a given amount of time to detect ansi on the remote
system. If the remote does not respond in that time, it is assumed that
they have no ansi capability. This detection time has been revised a
number of times but will never guarantee that the remote does or does
not have ansi active. If a user shells to use a protocol, then the
terminal cannot answer the detection sequence until it is again active.
In the meantime THD could timeout on the detection and send ASCII
instead. Work is still ongoing to optimize that time span to allow most
terminals to regain control.
Q. My multinode BBS can pass the NODE number but not the port number.
How do I get THD ProScan to understand which "PORT" to use?
A. The easiest way to do this is to run THDPRO.EXE from a batch file.
Have your BBS pass the "NODE" to the batch file and then have the batch
file call THDPRO.EXE with the appropriate PORT number for that node.
The following example would work for a BBS with node 1 using com2 and
node2 using com3.
@echo off
CTTY CON
IF "%2"=="1" C:\THD\THDPRO.EXE %1 2
IF "%2"=="2" C:\THD\THDPRO.EXE %1 3
^node number use comport^
Q. Why does Version 6 "look" the same as Version 1?
A. My main concern is and always has been the functionality of the tester.
As such, the appearance of the tester has always been of little
concern. Aside from that though, I like the way it looks.
Q. Why can't the sysop see the user's view?
A. The sysop's view is (and always will be) the view of the various
utilities. While the user view may be nicer to look at, it reveals
nothing about what is happening on the system. The information
displayed to the sysop can reveal errors or other things which may be
helpful in explaining errors. I have found it to be extremely helpful
when answering questions if the sysop can see exactly where the error
occurred.