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

[Zimoski, Tom]

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

But I know this wasn't the cause of the problem the last time.

Thanks for your attention.


Tom Zimoski
Reference Dept/Fresno County Library