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F-Probe version 0.67 Beta Automated Upload File Testing for use with PCBoard COPYRIGHT 1992 (c) ROBERT D. FELDMAN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 3 June 1992 First Beta-test release Author: Robert D. Feldman 3941 South 700 West #22 Salt Lake City, UT 84123 F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 2 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY ALTHOUGH CONSIDERABLE EFFORT WAS EXPENDED TO INSURE THAT THIS PRODUCT WORKS PROPERLY, IT MAY NOT WORK UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. BECAUSE OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE INSTALLED, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED. THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE OFFERED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. THE AUTHOR (ROBERT D. FELDMAN) WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR LOSSES OF ANY KIND, TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY, WHICH MIGHT OCCUR FROM THE ABILITY OR INABILITY TO USE THIS SOFTWARE. YOU USE THIS SOFTWARE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK. COPYRIGHT NOTICES PCBOARD is a registered trademark of Clark Development Company, Inc. SENDCOM.EXE by Bill Shields is in the public domain. MS-DOS is a registered trademark of MicroSoft Corp. PKZIP and PKUNZIP are copyright by PKWare, Inc. SCAN (Viruscan) is copyright by McAfee Associates. DesqView and QEMM are copyright by Quarterdeck. SENDCOM The archive SENDCOM2.ZIP in its original form is included in this package. The author claims no rights, credit or responsi- bility for the Sendcom software. Sendcom was created and released into the Public Domain by Bill Shields. Read sendcom.doc for further details. I have Mr. Shields permission to include Sendcom with this package. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 3 DISTRIBUTION POLICY This distribution policy applies to version 0.67ß of F-Probe ONLY. This version is released as FREEWARE. A registration fee for this version of F-Probe is not required. However, if you find this software useful and wish to express your gratitude in mone- tary terms, the author will accept any donations sent to the address below. A donation of $10 is suggested. Monetary donations will also serve to encourage and motivate the author to pursue further development of F-Probe and other programming projects. Future enhanced versions of F-Probe may require registration governed by an updated distribution policy. This means that you may use, copy and distribute F-Probe version 0.67ß provided that the letter and intent of this distribution policy are strictly adhered to. All files contained in the original F-Probe archive must be distributed without modification of any kind and only the original files will be included in the archive. This software may not be distributed for profit by anyone other than the author. The only exception is the nominal fee which shareware distributors use to cover duplication and distri- bution costs, not to exceed $7 under any circumstances. The author reserves all rights to the F-Probe software and accompany- ing documentation. Deviation from this policy constitutes copy- right infringement. COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS AND DONATIONS Send them to the Author: Robert D. Feldman 3941 South 700 West #22 Salt Lake City, UT 84123 F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 4 INTRODUCTION The requirements of our BBS were simple: We needed a program that was easy to set up, checked uploads for Zip file integrity, checked for viruses, required little memory space and was configurable. That was all. Anything else was "bells and whistles". Our primary concern was reliability. F-Probe operation is simple. All F-Probe commands are executed by F-PROBE.EXE and PCBTEST.BAT. Pcbtest calls F-Probe into action. Then, F-Probe verifies that the uploaded file is in fact a ZIP-compressed file. If the file isn't zipped, the file is renamed with the extender .!!N (for "N"ot a ZIP file) and F-Probe halts operation. Note that this version of F-Probe only checks for ZIP files. Later versions will check other file compression formats. It is the Sysop's responsibility to manually check all non-zipped files. If the file is verified as a ZIP file, it is tested for integrity. If the integrity test fails, the file is renamed .!!Z (for "Z"ip integrity error) and F-Probe stops. If the integrity test is passed, the contents of the archive are dumped into the WORK directory and searched for embedded ZIP files. If any are found, they are tested and dumped also. If any embedded ZIP files fail verification or the integrity test, the upload file is renamed with the extender .!!Z and F-Probe stops. If the sysop indicated during installation that a file-date check was desired, F-Probe next performs that test. If the upload fails the file-date test, it is renamed with the extender .!!D (for "D"ate error) and F-Probe stops. Next, F-Probe calls McAfee's SCAN to check all files in the WORK directory for viruses. If one is detected, the upload file is renamed with the extender .!!V (for "V"irus) and F-Probe stops. If all previous tests are successful, the upload filename remains intact and no further processing is performed. A one-line result message will be appended to the upload description (if the sysop requested this option during installation). If any of the tests failed, PCBTEST.BAT continues the processing by disposing of renamed upload files in the manner specified by the sysop when F-Probe was installed (several options are available). This version of F-Probe is fully functional. No features are crippled and you are not exposed to nagging reminders to pay up. This is my small way of reciprocating to the many Sysops whose hospitality has made my tele-computing so much more enjoyable. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 5 FEATURES OF F-PROBE 0.67ß ■ Calls PKunzip to test upload for ZIP file integrity errors. Tested with PKunzip version 1.1. ■ Calls Scan to check archived files for viruses. Tested with Scan versions 89 and 91. ■ Low memory requirements. Small and compact. Since the memory requirements of PKunzip and Scan are likely to grow, I intentionally let PCBTEST.BAT do as much work as possible after F-Probe runs in order to keep F-Probe memory- thrifty. F-Probe requires only 64K when running. ■ All command-line parameters available to Scan.exe are accessible. ■ Highly configurable. ■ Recursive search through unlimited levels of embedded zip files. ■ Displays status messages to BBS caller while in operation. ■ Optionally appends a one-line, test-result message to the file description in the upload directory listing. ■ Optionally tests files in upload for file date-stamp constraints. ■ Great flexibility in disposing of suspect upload files. ■ Although F-Probe was designed specifically for use on PCBoard BBSes, it could be used as a stand-alone application or on other BBS systems. You'll need to experiment. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 6 INSTALLATION Installing F-Probe on your system consists of four, easy steps: INSTALLATION STEP 1. Create Directories. You will need to use the DOS command (MKDIR or MD) to create three sub-directories. The first sub-directory should be on the same drive as your C:\PCB directory and should be in the root directory. You may call it anything you like, but I suggest the name F-PROBE. The other two sub-directories should be created within the F-PROBE directory, and should be named WORK and BADFILES. Here are the suggested lines to enter in order to create these three sub-directories. Be sure to change the drive-letter if you are using a different drive: MD C:\F-PROBE MD C:\F-PROBE\WORK MD C:\F-PROBE\BADFILES The sample PCBTEST.BAT and F-PROBE.CFG files found in the F-Probe archive package, and the remaining installation instructions here, will assume that the directories you create for F-Probe are named C:\F-PROBE, C:\F-PROBE\WORK, and C:\F-PROBE\BADFILES. It is also assumed that your main PCBoard directory (where PCBTEST.BAT is) is named C:\PCB and that the work directory for the logged on user is C:\PCB for single-node boards and C:\PCB\NODE%PCBNODE% for multi-node boards. I recommend that you follow this naming convention. If you choose to substitute the C:\F-PROBE and C:\PCB paths, be sure to make the appropriate changes to this documentation manual. The subdirectory WORK (within F-PROBE) must be named as such since that name is hard-coded within F-Probe. The C:\F-PROBE directory will hold all the F-Probe program and support files. The C:\F-PROBE\WORK directory is a temporary work area. This directory is always empty, except when F-Probe is checking files. The C:\F-PROBE\BADFILES is the directory where suspect uploaded files can optionally be stored. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 7 INSTALLATION STEP 2. Extract and copy F-Probe files to proper sub-directories. a. Extract all files contained in the F-Probe archive into the C:\F-PROBE subdirectory. b. Extract all files contained in C:\F-PROBE\SENDCOM2.ZIP (this file came from the F-Probe archive package) into C:\F-PROBE. c. In your C:\PCB subdirectory, rename your current PCBTEST.BAT to PCBTEST.OLD in case you ever discontinue use of F-Probe and wish to return to your old setup. d. Copy C:\F-PROBE\PCBTEST.BAT (sample file which came from the F-Probe archive package) to C:\PCB. After installation step 2 is completed, your C:\F-PROBE directory should contain the following files: Filename Description ------------ ----------------------------------------- F-PROBE.EXE Main Executable program. F-PROBE.CFG Configuration file. F-PROBE.DOC The file you are reading now. SENDCOM2.ZIP Sendcom archive in its original form. SENDCOM.EXE Sendcom program. SENDCOM.DOC Documentation for Sendcom. PCBTEST.BAT PCBoard batch file configured for F-Probe operation. FILE_ID.DIZ Brief description of F-Probe. SAMPLE.MSG Examples of screen and file output. After F-Probe's first execution, additional files are automatically created and updated by F-Probe in C:\F-PROBE: Filename Description ----------- -------------------------------------- F-PROBE.LOG Log file where all F-Probe activity is recorded. F-PROBE.RES Single-line results message for appending to upload directory listing. F-PROBE.DES Holds contents of uploaded file's description. F-PROBE.VIR Output from SCAN execution. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 8 INSTALLATION STEP 3. Edit the F-Probe configuration file (C:\F-PROBE\F-PROBE.CFG). The F-PROBE.CFG file contains a remarks line, followed by a configuration item line, followed by more remarks and configuration lines. After the last configuration line, there is a line with the word NOTES on it. You may add optional remarks following the NOTES line to remind you of configuration item details. If the filenames in the configuration items need modification, simply overwrite the present configuration entry with a new one. DO NOT add any configuration or remarks lines above the NOTES line. DO NOT modify the text in the remarks lines. DO NOT change the sequence in which the lines are arranged. An explanation of the different configuration items follows. Each configuration line is listed in the rectangle exactly as it appears in the sample configuration file (C:\F-PROBE\F-PROBE.CFG). Then the line is explained so you can make needed modifications: ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ----------PATH WHERE F-PROBE.EXE IS INSTALLED:---------------│ │ C:\F-PROBE │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Self-explanatory. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ----------PATH WHERE PKUNZIP.EXE IS INSTALLED:----------------│ │ C:\UTIL │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Pkunzip.exe is not included with this F-Probe package but can be obtained on most BBSes. You obviously have a copy of Pkunzip or you would have been unable to extract this documentation manual <grin>. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ----------PATH WHERE SCAN.EXE IS INSTALLED:-------------------│ │ C:\UTIL │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ F-Probe.CFG assumes that you will use McAfee's Scan program to test for viruses. Scan.exe is not included with this F-Probe package but can be obtained on many BBSes. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 9 ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ----------PARAMETER LIST TO PASS TO SCAN.EXE------------------│ │ /a /nomem /fast /nopause │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ These parameters are set for McAfee's virus scan and are the ones I recommend. Refer to Scan documentation for details if you want to use different parameters. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ----------DATE CHECKING ACCEPTABLE YEAR LOWER LIMIT:----------│ │ 1991 │ │ ----------DATE CHECKING ACCEPTABLE MONTH LOWER LIMIT(1-12): --│ │ 7 │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ These two configuration items determine which uploads will fail the file date-stamp test. If the most recent file in an archive is dated earlier than the month/year you specify here, the upload fails the test and the archive filename extender is renamed to .!!D. The purpose of this extender is to "mark" the file for later processing. To disable date checking, enter a single zero (0) for both the year and the month lower limits. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡ │ │ NOTES │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ You may add as many remarks as you wish to the lines following the word NOTES. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 10 INSTALLATION STEP 4. Edit C:\PCB\PCBTEST.BAT file. An explanation of the lines in PCBTEST.BAT follows. Edit your file where necessary to correspond to your drive letter and subdirectory names. (Refer to the sample PCBTEST.BAT which you copied into your C:\PCB subdirectory.): ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ C:\F-PROBE\F-PROBE C:\F-PROBE.CFG %1 │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ This entry is required. It executes F-Probe. The variable (%1) refers to the uploaded filename -- do not edit this part of the line. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ COPY %3+C:\F-PROBE\F-PROBE.RES C:\F-PROBE\F-PROBE.DES │ │ COPY C:\F-PROBE\F-PROBE.DES %3 │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ These two lines are optional. They append a one-line test result message to the file description in the upload directory listing. The variable (%3) refers to the file description entered by the caller (or to the description contained in FILE_ID.DIZ if it exists) -- do not edit this part of the line. Green messages are displayed for uploads which passed all tests; red messages, for failed tests. Replace the paths, if necessary. DO NOT modify anything else. To disable this feature, simply delete these two lines from the batch file. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 11 «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» «∙»∙«∙» CAUTION «∙»∙«∙» CAUTION «∙»∙«∙» CAUTION «∙»∙«∙» «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» PLEASE PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS BECAUSE AN ERROR HERE COULD PROVE DISASTROUS!!. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ CD C:\PCB\FILES\UPLOADS │ │ IF EXIST *.!!? COPY *.!!? C:\F-PROBE\BADFILES │ │ IF EXIST *.!!? DEL *.!!? │ │ CD C:\PCB\FILES\PRIVUL │ │ IF EXIST *.!!? COPY *.!!? C:\F-PROBE\BADFILES │ │ IF EXIST *.!!? DEL *.!!? │ │ CD C:\PCB\NODE%PCBNODE% │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ These entries are optional. However, they offer a powerful tool for segregating and/or disposing of files which failed any or all of the tests. The command lines listed above are grouped in "clusters" of three command lines. Each cluster consists of one 'cd' and two 'if exist' command lines. YOU NEED TO SET UP ONE CLUSTER OF THREE LINES FOR EACH UPLOAD DIRECTORY AVAILABLE ON YOUR BBS. In the example above, the BBS has two upload directories, one public: C:\PCB\FILES\UPLOADS, and one private (for sysop only): C:\PCB\FILES\PRIVUL. The first line in a cluster: CD C:\PCB\FILES\UPLOAD changes the default directory to the upload directory. The second line in a cluster: IF EXIST *.!!? COPY *.!!? C:\F-PROBE\BADFILES searches the upload directory for any files which have been renamed as a result of failing one of the F-Probe tests. These are the renaming conventions: Filename Extender Reason for renaming --------------------------------------------------------- .!!D Failed file date-stamp test. .!!Z Failed Zip integrity test. .!!V One or more viruses were found in archived files. .!!N Non-ZIP file, check manually. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 12 In the above example, we search for files which have failed ANY test. If any files are found, they are copied to a temporary holding directory (C:\F-PROBE\BADFILES). At this point, there is room for sysop creativity. You may elect to: a. Copy none of the suspect file types. Simply delete this line from the cluster. b. Copy only one group of suspect files. Simply replace the .!!? extender with the one you are interested in (.!!V, .!!D, .!!N, or .!!Z). c. Copy two, three or all four types of files to a corresponding directory. For instance, copy .!!Z to a directory named C:\F-PROBE\BADZIP, .!!D to a directory named C:\F-PROBE\BADDATE, .!!N to a directory named C:\F-PROBE\NONZIP, and .!!V to a directory named C:\F-PROBE\VIRII. Simply customize the line as in (b) above, create one or more addi- tional lines and customize them. This would expand the number of lines in this particular cluster to up to 6 lines. Be sure to create these customized directories first. For example, the cluster might be customized to read: CD C:\PCB\FILES\PRIVUL IF EXIST *.!!Z COPY *.!!Z C:\F-PROBE\BADZIP IF EXIST *.!!D COPY *.!!D C:\F-PROBE\BADDATE IF EXIST *.!!N COPY *.!!N C:\F-PROBE\NONZIP IF EXIST *.!!V COPY *.!!V C:\F-PROBE\VIRII IF EXIST *.!!? DEL *.!!? The last line in a cluster: IF EXIST *.!!? DEL *.!!? deletes any renamed files from the upload directory. This command line, in conjunction with the previous ones, simulate the act of "moving" files to their respective directories. If you do not wish to "move" suspect files, but only want to delete them, remove all the 'if exist... copy...' lines from the cluster. If you do not want to "move" or delete the suspect files from the upload directory, simply remove all cluster lines from the PCBTEST.BAT file. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 13 The last line of PCBTEST.BAT (after all of the three-line clusters for each upload directory on your BBS): CD C:\PCB\NODE%PCBNODE% restores the default directory to the one in effect before F-Probe was executed. This must be the directory designated by PCBoard for the presently logged on remote user. This line is required only if you copied or deleted marked files in the upload directories. Of course, if you have a single- node BBS, the line should be: CD C:\PCB This is the end of the four steps required to install F-Probe on your BBS. If any of these instructions aren't clear or if you have configuration questions, you can contact the author at his home address (given on the cover page) or by leaving a message to BOB FELDMAN on the USOE BBS (801) 538-7973. F-PROBE.LOG The F-PROBE.LOG file is created by F-Probe when it runs, if the log file doesn't already exist. F-Probe updates F-PROBE.LOG, if it does exist. This file keeps a record of all F-Probe activ- ities and testing results. You should browse through it and purge it routinely. TROUBLESHOOTING Most of the problems you might encounter while installing and operating F-Probe are likely to occur because F-Probe is unable to locate a misplaced file. Double-check the F-PROBE.CFG and PCBTEST.BAT files for accuracy of the specified paths. During Alpha-testing, I encountered a problem when the BBS sysop tried to print when the system printer was offline (off). Due to this, messages no longer appeared on the remote user's screen. Unlock the node, and F-Probe will echo messages again. F-Probe «∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙»∙«∙» Page 14 ALPHA-TESTING Initial alpha-testing of this software was performed on a 386/25 Epson Computer running 3 nodes on PCBoard version 14.5a. Operating System MS-DOS 5.0. DesqView 2.42 and QEMM 6.02. A SPECIAL THANK YOU I would like to express my appreciation to Jolene Morris for her help in writing this documentation file and in letting me use the Utah State Office of Education's BBS to alpha test F-Probe. NEXT? In the next version of F-Probe, I hope to be able to incorporate the following enhanced features: ■ A fully automatic installation utility. ■ Improved output to remote user screen. ■ Support for other archiver formats. ■ Mass checking of BBS downloads, even those on CD-ROM. CHANGE HISTORY Release Date Version Changes/Fixes ----------------------------------------------------------------- 31 May 1992 0.66ß First Public Release. 3 Jun 1992 0.67ß Fixed a reported bug which prevented sysops from using F-probe on a "local" node. Improved error reporting. To upgrade from version 0.66, simply replace the old F-PROBE.EXE with the new one.