Q. How do I register this fine tester? A. Registration in the traditional sense is not required. However, if you really wish to do something for the author, The following is what I would like to see. Make the file FREE on your BBS (No Points/No Ratio). Make it FREQ'able if you are part of a net. If you are on a BBS that doesn't have it available, upload it there (ESPECIALLY foreign countries). If you have comments or suggestions, send them to me through Telenet Canada. If you're really ambitious, send them through Fido Net at 1:259/423 (attention David Muir). And above all, encourage people to use it. Q. Why don't you ask for money? A. I have been asked this question many times. I have two reasons for this apparent lack of logic. First how many worthwhile things will a complete stranger do for you absolutely free? (I am not a sysop and have almost no use for the majority of the things which THD ProScan is capable of doing.) Also since it has yet to be "perfect", it is not worthy of cash donations. I wouldn't ask you for money for something that is less than perfect. So when it does become "perfect", it will have been so close to perfect in the release prior, that it won't be worth paying for the minor differences. Q. When and why does THD Move/Rename files? A. THD ProScan was initially intended for and designed around TELEGARD. In so doing it's main purpose was to test files and it's secondary purpose was to save all files in the case where the file may have failed for a reason unknown or a bad configuration. In that respect THD was designed not only to not delete files but to avoid letting TG delete them for any reason except for the CRC failure. THD will attempt to move any file that fails for a reason OTHER than a CRC error. Where that file exists already, it will move and rename the file. If that name already exists, it will rename the file where it is and leave it there. While this may seem like a lot of trouble to some, You might not think so if you set up this wonderful new tester incorrectly and suddenly found your BBS deleting all uploads because of a bad path in your THD configuration. Q. Can I stop THD from Moving/Renaming files? A. YES. With version 6 and all future versions, THDINSTL will accept a parameter of "/NOMOVE" and alter the THDPRO.EXE file to not perform the move/rename operation. The default is to reset the move/rename option each time THDINSTL.EXE is run and failure to supply the /NOMOVE on each running will result in the move option being restored. No sign will be given that this option is active or inactive, so use it cautiously. Q. Why are the version numbers always ".0"? A. I have decided to stick with whole numbers for each new release. The "." is reserved for use in patch files as was the case with version 5.1. At least this way, when you see version 7 you will know that there have not been 100 "point" versions before it. Also each version number used is accounted for in the HISTORY.DOC, as are all the bugs found and fixed to date. Q. Can I change the options used by SCAN.EXE or the archivers? A. NO! Q. Why not? A. The reason for making this tester in the first place was because of the way (literally all) other upload testers handled the options. Those who left them configurable, handed the BBS user keys to your system, as did most of those who did not let you configure them. The options I use in THD Proscan are the ones I would use IF I ran a BBS. THD is the ONLY tester I could not find a simple way to break into a BBS. If I allow the options to be modified, Then I allow people who do not know the methods used to break into BBSes a chance to turn my tester into a back door. Q. You always emphasize the "SAFE" aspect of this tester, Is it really that safe? A. I cannot say that there is no way to get past it. However, I can say that I have not been able to do so and have never heard of anyone doing so. I have however tested a number of other upload testers and been successful in EVERY attempt at getting past them. I am not saying that it is impenetrable, only that I don't know any way. But be warned... "Locks are for honest people. Real thieves can break into almost anything." Q. Why do I even need an upload tester? A. You don't... It is simply a convenient way to test files while the user is online. If you wish to test all files manually that is your option. If you wish to trust another tester, that too is your option. But if you are at all unsure as to the security offered by other testers, use this one. If you find a back door in my tester, tell me. I will fix it. If I can't, I will stop programming it. Q. What options DOES this tester use for the archives? A. Basically it uses those options required to recreate all subdirectory structures without allowing the use of the root directory. It does not allow any overwrites. Q. Why no overwrites? A. Many testers allow overwrites as a way to stop archivers from prompting the sysop, I simply create an environment where this will never occur. Allowing overwrites could let a virus get past the tester by having two files with the same name, My tester will expand both those files and test both those files, while some other testers will let the virus free file overwrite the infected file and lose the ability to detect the virus in the first one. Q. So no viruses get past this tester? A. No viruses that can be detected by your version of McAfee's Viruscan. Unknown viruses or viruses not yet detectable by your version of SCAN.EXE may still get by, but they are few and far between. Also in this version the heuristic testing can aid in detecting unknown viruses. Q. Why do you insist on McAfee's SCAN.EXE? A. While no scanner is perfect, None is so widely available and frequently updated as is SCAN.EXE by McAfee. Others may be prettier and have some nice goodies with them, but I would trust McAfee on my system above all others and therefore am only giving you what "I" would use. Q. Why are TBSCAN and F-PROT not used for the standard virus scanning? A. At this point in time, I am not comfortable enough with the use of those two testers to use them in this capacity. However, in future, they may be an alternative. This will have to wait until I know the testers a little better. Q. The Ansi screen takes too long. Can it be aborted? A. No. It is interactive and must complete in order for the indictors to make any sense. Users not wishing to see it could disable their own ansi, thus causing the ASCII output to occur. Q. Sometimes my users don't get the ansi screen. Why? A. The program allots a given amount of time to detect ansi on the remote system. If the remote does not respond in that time, it is assumed that they have no ansi capability. This detection time has been revised a number of times but will never guarantee that the remote does or does not have ansi active. If a user shells to use a protocol, then the terminal cannot answer the detection sequence until it is again active. In the meantime THD could timeout on the detection and send ASCII instead. Work is still ongoing to optimize that time span to allow most terminals to regain control. Q. My multinode BBS can pass the NODE number but not the port number. How do I get THD ProScan to understand which "PORT" to use? A. The easiest way to do this is to run THDPRO.EXE from a batch file. Have your BBS pass the "NODE" to the batch file and then have the batch file call THDPRO.EXE with the appropriate PORT number for that node. The following example would work for a BBS with node 1 using com2 and node2 using com3. @echo off CTTY CON IF "%2"=="1" C:\THD\THDPRO.EXE %1 2 IF "%2"=="2" C:\THD\THDPRO.EXE %1 3 ^node number use comport^ Q. Why does Version 6 "look" the same as Version 1? A. My main concern is and always has been the functionality of the tester. As such, the appearance of the tester has always been of little concern. Aside from that though, I like the way it looks. Q. Why can't the sysop see the user's view? A. The sysop's view is (and always will be) the view of the various utilities. While the user view may be nicer to look at, it reveals nothing about what is happening on the system. The information displayed to the sysop can reveal errors or other things which may be helpful in explaining errors. I have found it to be extremely helpful when answering questions if the sysop can see exactly where the error occurred.