MilesAheadSoftware source only future?

[MilesAhead]

I got a complaint from my web hosting provider today about a download showing as malware.  I tried recompiling it with the latest version of AutoIt3 stable release.  It still trips VirusTotal.

Going through the list of zip files on my site it seems that quite a high percentage run afoul of one or more of the scanners that glom onto VirusTotal.  This leaves me with the choice to either chase my tail registering programs as false positives, in which case another scanner can just pop up out of the woodwork to make me endlessly submit this crap. Or I will have to only post source code.

The trouble with source code is include files.  If I use any routines written by someone else, now I am in the predicament of being dependent on their code availability, updates, breakage etc..

So the short of it is the handwriting on the wall seems to indicate the direction will be posting utilities in source code only written by myself that can be contained in a single file.

Since most people want to download things and use them, this will likely reduce to a fraction those who will use my programs.

Alternatively, I can continue to put stuff on Softpedia, and just chuck the web hosting.  But then I have no site of my own to point to.

Such fun giving stuff away ain't it?

It looks like as far as my own page goes, it will likely be that the surviving downloads will be single file source code in AHK.  I don't relish endlessly rescanning every executable I have hosted to see what passes VirusTotal that day.  More and more it seems the web is more hassle that it is worth.  It's nothing more than a shopping catalog it seems. 

[cranioscopical]

More and more it seems the web is more hassle that it is worth.  It's nothing more than a shopping catalog it seems.

-MilesAhead (December 07, 2015, 08:35 AM)

Amen to that!
 

[MilesAhead]

More and more it seems the web is more hassle that it is worth.  It's nothing more than a shopping catalog it seems.

-MilesAhead (December 07, 2015, 08:35 AM)

Amen to that!
 

-cranioscopical (December 07, 2015, 10:05 AM)

Just for chuckles you may want to purge your browser cache and read my page.  I am sure my diatribe won't do any good but it made me feel better to post it.  I notice more and more of my files and being flagged by more av scanners in the VirusTotal posse.  I guess the one man programmer wasn't dead enough.  Now they are going after the zombies too dumb to have gotten out of this a long time ago. 

http://milesaheadsoftware.org/

[wraith808]

Perhaps you could talk with mouser about hosting it on a user page?

[MilesAhead]

Perhaps you could talk with mouser about hosting it on a user page?

-wraith808 (December 07, 2015, 10:27 AM)

That's an idea.  But what concerns me is that these scanner databases can be fed some string generated by your code as a trigger.  It just looks bad if 35 out of 50 scanners say your program is evil.  Then how could it be left up?  It is just fear mongering.

Maybe I need a change anyway.  Instead of coming up with small utilities when I don't have a test setup that approaches the norm anymore(more and more people using multi-monitor setups just to mention one aspect.. pun intended) maybe I should pursue another angle.

It just seems like every time I buy a new T-Shirt with my domain in the front, the domain gets pulled.  If I switch away from downloadable binaries maybe I can head that trend off. 

The main danger is people would be subjected to me blogging or something equally scary. 

[tomos]

Hope you get to sort something out Miles (dc!) -- but yeah, it's a pita...

For those who want to stockpile the zip files on my page, now is a good time to use DownLoadThemAll. 

-MilesAhead (December 07, 2015, 07:34 AM)

^ I took this advice, thanks

[mouser]

DC can host your software.  Those false antivirus alerts are so painfully annoying (still have to figure out a way to solve that no matter where you host).

[MilesAhead]

Hope you get to sort something out Miles (dc!) -- but yeah, it's a pita...

For those who want to stockpile the zip files on my page, now is a good time to use DownLoadThemAll. 

-MilesAhead (December 07, 2015, 07:34 AM)

^ I took this advice, thanks

-tomos (December 07, 2015, 10:56 AM)

Thank you for downloading them. 
The nasty look went off my face right away. 

[MilesAhead]

DC can host your software.  Those false antivirus alerts are so painfully annoying (still have to figure out a way to solve that no matter where you host).

-mouser (December 07, 2015, 11:11 AM)

Yeah, these things are popping up so fast.  If you look at the list in VirusTotal it's almost like a McGuffin list.  They wave a blank diskette/CD/USB and say it has the nuclear secrets/spy list/whatever.  I think this list is growing just to discourage submitting a false positive report.  Like how many times are you going to go through the mumbo jumbo when some other scanner comes out the next day and you are back to square one?  How can these things make money?  Where are they coming from?

I don't think Hawk Host will kick me because I deleted the zip file.  But they say I can send them "proof" if I think the report is a false positive.  But they give me no information about the report.  Who made it?  What was used to flag it?  Nothing but a filename.  The burden should be on the one making the assertion that there's a problem.  I don't have any complaints by users that such and such a thing  happened.  But I'm supposed to chase phantom reports of problems that don't exist for freeware.  It's  a bizarre notion.  There are shops in downtown Miami with a sign on the wall "All Sales are Final."  If I buy a suitcase and the wheel falls off when I roll it outside the door, I own it.  But I have to guarantee a free product for a fault that hasn't happened?  Pretty weird.

[Lintalist]

You can keep your own domain but host your (zipped) executable(s) on GitHub? Either directly in your repo or better yet as releases, let them foot the bill for the downloads :-)

[MilesAhead]

You can keep your own domain but host your (zipped) executable(s) on GitHub? Either directly in your repo or better yet as releases, let them foot the bill for the downloads :-)

-Lintalist (December 07, 2015, 11:38 AM)

Thanks for the suggestion.   

[MilesAhead]

I got an email from HawkHost support saying what they consider proof is just a note from me that I am the author/maintainer of the file in question.  Then they say I can keep the download on the page(presumably somebody tries the program to see if it is nasty I suppose.)  But that still doesn't address the issue of an ever growing list of self-appointed content guardians spewing slander.  Seems like there's a need for Congressional action.  Although this isn't the 60s/70s anymore and once that bear wakes up it might do something really counterproductive.

[wraith808]

You can keep your own domain but host your (zipped) executable(s) on GitHub? Either directly in your repo or better yet as releases, let them foot the bill for the downloads :-)

-Lintalist (December 07, 2015, 11:38 AM)

Thanks for the suggestion.   

-MilesAhead (December 07, 2015, 11:44 AM)

That's actually a *really* good suggestion!

[TaoPhoenix]

I got a complaint from my web hosting provider today about a download showing as malware.  I tried recompiling it with the latest version of AutoIt3 stable release.  It still trips VirusTotal.

Going through the list of zip files on my site it seems that quite a high percentage run afoul of one or more of the scanners that glom onto VirusTotal.  This leaves me with the choice to either chase my tail registering programs as false positives, in which case another scanner can just pop up out of the woodwork to make me endlessly submit this crap. Or I will have to only post source code.

The trouble with source code is include files.  If I use any routines written by someone else, now I am in the predicament of being dependent on their code availability, updates, breakage etc..

So the short of it is the handwriting on the wall seems to indicate the direction will be posting utilities in source code only written by myself that can be contained in a single file.

Since most people want to download things and use them, this will likely reduce to a fraction those who will use my programs.

Alternatively, I can continue to put stuff on Softpedia, and just chuck the web hosting.  But then I have no site of my own to point to.

Such fun giving stuff away ain't it?

It looks like as far as my own page goes, it will likely be that the surviving downloads will be single file source code in AHK.  I don't relish endlessly rescanning every executable I have hosted to see what passes VirusTotal that day.  More and more it seems the web is more hassle that it is worth.  It's nothing more than a shopping catalog it seems. 

-MilesAhead (December 07, 2015, 08:35 AM)

Why don't you talk to Seraphim? He was my final choice for original co-winner of a project I did years ago of a "fantastically obvious metric that worked stunningly well" for free host quality. He's here because I suggested DC to him a while back. That metric was started on FreeWebHost.net and included one metric: "Stay running." But you'd be amazed because that was overrun by twerps who burst into view with Time Square grade sensory noise, only to fold like 2-8 months later.

And he's smart enough to know what a macro program is and help you figure ideas out.

The era of free web hosting is fading because people don't make their sites much anymore, they just glom onto "social media". But you're dead center of his original mission. He told me he's keeping at least a server or two around no matter what, so he has capacity, and he has decent tech skills to trouble shoot. And while "free" isn't a valid model anymore, since he's stuck with a sunk cost situation, I finally got a paycheck out of a project a lil' while back so I'll be sending him a little cash soon.

And because he's got the highest integrity etc, it might be worth mouser co-partnering him or something to make him one of maybe a couple "official" site "affiliated" hosts of DC just in case people don't want to put "half baked / ultra-pre-alpha" stuff on DC prime. Asudem, I'm looking at you! And it might make him happy to know at least a few users have a vetted free host source they can use. And he might get say five more users, and then his sunk cost server will have a purpose. And Deo, depends on how big your needs are, talk to him, unless you need wild cloud-y stuff, he will be willing to negotiate WAY less than what you were offered on your other host!

[MilesAhead]

@TaoPhoenix thanks for the suggestion.   

[MilesAhead]

For the time being what I have decided to do it use DownloadThemAll to download all the zip files from my page.  Use Md5Hash to compare the zips with my copies to make sure none have been altered online.  Then I will scan the folder of downloaded zips with MBAM and post the date of the clean scan on the page.

I can't be chasing around scanners as another one pops into existence every day.  Also if I change one byte in the file it will have a different hash and thereby provide an excuse for a bad scan.  I can't email a copy of my program every time I make an edit to some central censor.  For now I'll go with MBAM and see how that works.