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Random File From Safari Appeared

SkippyThorson

SkippyThorson

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 22, 2007
1,669
937
Utica, NY
I was just online with Safari and iCal open, and I got the craving to hunt around Fake Steve just because I wanted to read something humorous on a day where I needed it.

Anyhow. I was reading an article, and a file popped out of the middle of the page and into my Download list on Safari. The file is named hcounter.php, and I have no idea what it is.

Is it a gift that grants me unlimited wealth? One of those fancy new malicious scripts? Is someone in a third world country going to ask me to wire him my bank info? :p

Purely curious, but I figured someone on here would have an answer. I attached a screenshot of said file below. It's not too exciting; the image of the white file.

* No, I did not open it or authorize it. How does one view the file's Certificate or any other critical info? I hit it with VirusBarrier to play it safe, which yielded no red flags.
 

Attachments

  • hcounter SreenShot.png
    hcounter SreenShot.png
    17.8 KB · Views: 451
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
Any time a file downloads that you didn't initiate, just delete it.

  1. Make sure your built-in Mac firewall is enabled in System Preferences > Security > Firewall
  2. Uncheck "Enable Java" in Safari > Preferences > Security.
  3. Uncheck "Open "safe" files after downloading" in Safari > Preferences > General
  4. Be careful to only install software from trusted, reputable sites. Never install pirated software. If you're not sure about an app, ask in this forum before installing.
  5. Never let someone else have physical access to install anything on your Mac.
  6. Always keep your Mac and application software updated. Use Software Update for your Mac software. For other software, it's safer to get updates from the developer's site or from the menu item "Check for updates", rather than installing from any notification window that pops up while you're surfing the web.
That's all you need to do to keep your Mac completely free of any virus, trojan, spyware, keylogger, or other malware. You don't need any 3rd party software to keep your Mac secure.
 
Apple Key

Apple Key

macrumors 6502a
Jan 4, 2012
561
0
Just out of curiosity, are you sure you didn't option-click on a link on the page?
 
SkippyThorson

SkippyThorson

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 22, 2007
1,669
937
Utica, NY
GGJstudios, yup, file deleted. :)

Any time something fishy pops up, I expect to see your name. It's refreshing; if you don't say that I should be overly concerned, that's pretty darn reassuring. Thank you for the as-always lightning-fast-response!

I hate to pry, but I'm always the curious type. Any ideas what this .php file might particularly be?

Apple Key said:
Just out of curiosity, are you sure you didn't option-click on a link on the page?
Click to expand...

Nope, I considered just that. I was reading at the time, and the only input I gave at that moment was 2-finger scrolling. The file popped out of the near middle of the page, nowhere around a clickable link. That's what stumped me about it.
 
Apple Key

Apple Key

macrumors 6502a
Jan 4, 2012
561
0
LiesForTheLiars said:
I do this every so often by accident and get the same .php link files. It's rather annoying.
Click to expand...

It's annoying to me too, I do they same thing accidentally. I have yet to see a non-user initiated file download. I'm not saying it can't happen though.
 
SkippyThorson

SkippyThorson

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 22, 2007
1,669
937
Utica, NY
GGJstudios said:
I have no idea. You can try Googling if you really want to explore it, but it's not worth the effort, IMO.
Click to expand...

Agreed, if it isn't known and isn't a pressing issue, it's not worth it. I'm fine with that resolution. :)

LiesForTheLiars said:
I do this every so often by accident and get the same .php link files. It's rather annoying.
Click to expand...

I've been there too. However, every time it happens, I wind up with a something.php.html file. This was was simply something.php. I've attached a screenshot of said examples below.

Agreed, when it happens, it's annoying. Clear Downloads, remove from Downloads folder, put in trash, empty trash. All because I clicked wrong. :rolleyes:

Apple Key said:
It's annoying to me too, I do they same thing accidentally. I have yet to see a non-user initiated file download. I'm not saying it can't happen though.
Click to expand...

Same here, but I was 2-finger scrolling at the time. Maybe something did get hit or otherwise, but I have no idea what it could have been. That's the more perplexing part.
 

Attachments

  • hcounter ScreenShot.png
    hcounter ScreenShot.png
    17.8 KB · Views: 382
  • php.html ScreenShot.png
    php.html ScreenShot.png
    30.6 KB · Views: 393
Apple Key

Apple Key

macrumors 6502a
Jan 4, 2012
561
0
SkippyThorson said:
I've been there too. However, every time it happens, I wind up with a something.php.html file. This was was simply something.php. I've attached a screenshot of said examples below.

Agreed, when it happens, it's annoying. Clear Downloads, remove from Downloads folder, put in trash, empty trash. All because I clicked wrong. :rolleyes:

Same here, but I was 2-finger scrolling at the time. Maybe something did get hit or otherwise, but I have no idea what it could have been. That's the more perplexing part.
Click to expand...

Good point! I forgot about that. I've tested and get the same results. I wonder how it could have happened then.
 
AndrewDarnell

AndrewDarnell

macrumors newbie
Mar 1, 2012
5
0
Westford, MA
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