Problems with.dmg files in Chrome?

[Hungadunga]

I'm running Chrome on OSX 10.8.2. I downloaded the driver and utilities combo for my Epson NX430, which was a .dmg file. Chrome initially told me that that sort of file could damage my computer, and did I still want to open it. I said yes, and got a second, more ominous message to the effect of "Bad things can happen. Don't say we didn't warn you."

It freaked me out, frankly. Could a file downloaded from Epson's site truly harm my machine?

Thanks.

[trevor]

To see exactly what you're talking about, I launched Chrome 23.0.1271.97, and went to:
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/s...Type=Downloads
which is the most likely page on Epson's site for NX430 downloads. I selected my OS and then downloaded 'Drivers and Utilities Combo Package', which is named epson14346.dmg. I saw the message saying exactly, "This type of file can harm your computer. Do you want to keep epson14346.dmg anyway?". I clicked "Keep". This was a gray bar at the bottom of the Chrome window.

The .dmg file was in my Downloads folder, and mounted when double-clicked. At no point was there anything more ominous.

Now, I'm still running Snow Leopard, so there may be a difference because of the later version of OS X that you're using, but 'Bad things can happen. Don't say we didn't warn you." doesn't sound at all like Apple. Are you running some kind of third party app that purports to protect your computer from downloaded malware?

And to answer your question, 'harm your computer' seems to be second-grader-speak for a blanket warning about downloading malware. There's certainly no software that can damage the hardware of your computer, but it's possible to download software that can mess up your operating system installation in various ways. Epson's software, no matter what good or bad reaction you may have to it, is clearly not malware. And the 'harm your computer' message comes with any .dmg file, and says nothing about this specific .dmg file.

You should make the determination whether or not you trust Epson (I would trust them) and download the file. Don't let poorly-written safety-nazi messages control you!

Trevor

[fracai]

It's Google being a bit ominous in their warnings. Basically, yes a DMG can contain something that could harm your computer. So could a ZIP, TAR.GZ, or GIF. The point of the warning is to make you stop and consider what you're downloading and from who. DMGs are more likely to contain an application than a GIF is, so they have a hasher warning that I think goes too far. I don't remember ever seeing anything a message that implied "don't say we didn't warn you" though.

[Hungadunga]

Thanks for doing that, Trevor. No, I'm not running any third-party apps, and I believe the warning message was from Chrome, rather than Apple.

I'll go ahead and give it another whirl!

[Hungadunga]

Quote: Originally Posted by fracai It's Google being a bit ominous in their warnings. Basically, yes a DMG can contain something that could harm your computer. So could a ZIP, TAR.GZ, or GIF. The point of the warning is to make you stop and consider what you're downloading and from who. DMGs are more likely to contain an application than a GIF is, so they have a hasher warning that I think goes too far. I don't remember ever seeing anything a message that implied "don't say we didn't warn you" though.

Thanks, fracai. I appreciate the input.