User asked save/open http://rss.sjvls.org/rpa/webauth.exe?lb=FRSN

[Tom Zimoski]

Greetings,

I work at a public library I just talked to a patron who told me that
when she clicks on http://rss.sjvls.org/rpa/webauth.exe?lb=FRSN she is
asked whether she
wants to save or open (run?) the file webauth.exe Instead, she should
get our remote patron authentication page which asks for the number
from
her library card.

Seems like I hear about something like this every three or four years
and I've never grasped what causes it. Some time ago I found something
about inserting some other character(s) in the URL, probably near
"exe",
but I can't relocate that information.

All I have found this time that may be relevant is:
Problem: Instead of getting the page, my browser asks me if I want to
save or run the program "tsrvweb.exe".
Possible cause: You are using a download accelerator such as NetTurbo,
NetSonic, Webcelerator, or GetRight.

Recommended solution: Disable the download accelerator. Our site uses
a
Common Gateway Interface (CGI) program called tsrvweb.exe to generate
dynamic web pages. Your download accelerator thinks this is a program
to
be downloaded (a self-extracting archive, for example) and tries to
download it instead of letting the web server run the CGI program and
deliver the web page

I'll try this out on my library customer but I know this wasn't the
cause of the problem the last time I looked into it.

Thanks for your attention.

Tom Zimoski

 

[Robert Aldwinckle]

Greetings,

I work at a public library I just talked to a patron who told me that
when she clicks on http://rss.sjvls.org/rpa/webauth.exe?lb=FRSN she is
asked whether she
wants to save or open (run?) the file webauth.exe Instead, she should
get our remote patron authentication page which asks for the number
from
her library card.

Have you asked her to check the source she is getting?
(E.g. press Alt-V,c)

A security package or other interfering software may be
fiddling with this coding:

<example>
<form ACTION="../rpa/webauth.exe" NAME="search" METHOD="POST" ONSUBMIT="getclienttime()">
</example>


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