Forum Update Suggestion

[bailojustin]

Would there be anyway in the future you can add the option to upload .zip or .dmp files from your computer to the sit in a forum post please.

 

[USAFRet]

Would there be anyway in the future you can add the option to upload .zip or .dmp files from your computer to the sit in a forum post please.

For what purpose? A .zip that might hold some diagnostic info might also be a .zip with a malicious payload.
I have no major influence here, but I don't see that happening.

 

[Chicano]

I don't think that's a desireable option for security reasons, or a practical one since you can achieve the same purpose uploading the file to one of hundreds of file sharing website/servers and post the link here... to the party interested in downloading your file it shouldn't make a difference where to download it from.

Just 15 examples.
http://thetechreader.com/tech/15-top-free-file-hosting-sites-2015-reviews-and-ratings/

 

[bailojustin]

Just because it is a Hassle to have to explain to someone how to zip a file and upload to a hosting site. Everyone is aware it could be malicious, welcome to the internet, you know the risk involved and if you take certain precautions such as I do its harmless. This is a site where people who are well educated and informed about computers help fix others problems, I doubt they will have an issue themselves.
The reason why is because one of the most effective tools to have is debugging .dmp files and crash files/minidumps. It would be so much easier to just upload one and grab it quickly so I can further help the OP faster and more efficiently.
And if you get a Virus from a file like that shame on you, You should always have enough protection to stop something like that, and at least prescan the folders

 

[USAFRet]

If .zip files were allowed here as direct uploads, there would be, in short order, a 99-1 ratio of malicious files vs innocuous diag files.

Alternate locations already exist. No value added in duplicating that here.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Not everyone on this site is experienced, and the best way to protect yourself from viruses in zips is not to open them in the first place.

It's next to impossible to adequately scan a zip file (because of the halting problem), and it's very easy to craft a zip that will take a near-infinite time to decompress, which you have to do to scan the contents.

 

[bailojustin]

I was just looking for something of more of a convenience to the people asking for help. I can solve many issues using Debbuggers and I need dmp files for it, so either way it forces me to go to another site to download something to help the OP. It again was just a suggestion, you can think of all the issues it can cause, but you also cant deny the fact that it is more convenient, quicker, and makes people who debug dump and crash files jobs easier/simpler.

 

[ssddx]

i think we all have realized how convenient it would be as a feature - that part is easy. yes, it does get old to tell users to host images on an image host or a file on a file host.

the trouble is how such a feature will be misused which is why everyone is pointing out its flaws. there is quite a large risk of it being used for malicious means considering that most of the users asking questions might not be computer savvy and may inherently trust a file hosted on toms. while it may sound silly to some of us, its a possible problem.

not mentioned yet: you also need to think about hosting space. toms does not allow local hosting of images linked to threads let alone any other files. while agreed some other sites host files if toms were to do this it could quickly add up to a significant chunk of webspace taken up even if it was cleared periodically.