
Genesis Library and multiple mirror sites. This site lists over 2 million documents and books for people to download for free. While some of these files are likely copyright-protected materials, a lot of them seem to be professional papers, and—as frequently happens at P2P download sites—some of these files likely contain malware.
But not all of them do. However, users of this service have recently been reporting that Firefox is sometimes—and inconsistently—stopping them from downloading the desired texts. They also find the pop-up’s binary option of delete or open confusing—especially considering that Firefox hasn’t really looked deep into the individual, downloaded file.
“So, instead of giving the user the option to save the file and scan it with their own virus software, Firefox says you either have to delete it or execute it immediately. That’s probably not a very good idea for files suspected of containing malware,” reported a user on the Indy blog.
“Totally agree with this point,” points out Alexander Vukcevic, head of the Avira Virus Lab. “The warning should be changed the other way around so a person can save only without directly execution. This change would enable them to scan the file with their antivirus—without having to open or execute the file.”
The general security rule is to scan ANY suspect file before opening it. This gives the antivirus a clearer shot at stopping malware in its inactivated state, before an executed file can wreak havoc on a computer.