633606 - Cannot Download Executable Files

Status: RESOLVED INCOMPLETE

(Toolkit :: Downloads API, defect)

Description

[David E. Ross]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9.1.16) Gecko/20101123 SeaMonkey/2.0.11
Build Identifier: 

The cited URI is for Adobe's Flash Player.  However, I see this problem with any software installer file that has the .exe file-extension.  

When I select the location into which Download Manager should save the file, I get a download progress popup.  The popup says that downloading has been canceled.  I then select the tiny retry button (the circular arrow).  Downloading then occurs.  When I look at the downloaded file, it has 0 size.  Opening the file in a text editor clearly shows the file is empty.  However, the Download Manager log shows the correct number of bytes was downloaded.  

The problem happens even when running SeaMonkey in safe mode.  The problem happens if I disable any of the following:  my anti-virus protection, Windows XP firewall, or the firewall in my Netgear router.  

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
Under Windows XP:  

1.  Go to the cited URI.  

2.  For operating system, select Windows XP.  For browser, select NOT IE.  ]

3.  Select the Download button.  

4.  When the Save File selection window appears, select a destination for the file.  

5.  When the download progress popup appears, if it says "Canceled", select the circular arrow to retry.  

6.  When downloading is completed, navigate to the folder indicated in step #4.  

7.  Check the properties of the downloaded file.  

8.  Display the Download Manager log.  
Actual Results:  
In step #7, the file will have 0 size.  

In step #8, the log will show 2.7 MB were downloaded.  

Expected Results:  
In step #7, the file properties should indicate a size of 2.7 MB.  

I was able to work around this problem by changing the file extension from .exe to .pdf in the Save File selection window before downloading and then changing the file extension back to .exe in the local downloaded file.  I chose .pdf because I knew that it too was a binary (not ASCII) file-type.  

I have tested this problem and found it to exist when attempting to download the installer for Java from <http://www.java.com/en/> and Domain Name Speed Benchmark from <http://www.grc.com/dns/benchmark.htm>.  I have also confirmed that this problem does not happen with files having extensions that are not .exe (beyond the testing for the workaround). 

The problem apparently did not exist on 4 November 2010, which would have been with the earlier SeaMonkey 2.0.10.

Comment 1

[(mostly gone) XtC4UaLL [:xtc4uall]]

Does flipping the Pref mentioned in http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/unable%20to%20download%20or%20save%20files#w_bypass-windows-security-policy-check help?

Comment 2

[David E. Ross]

Yes, that works.  Thanks.  

However, until the default for browser.download.manager.skipWinSecurityPolicyChecks is set "true", this should remain a bug.

Comment 3

[(mostly gone) XtC4UaLL [:xtc4uall]]

Umm, you read the "This happens because Firefox honors your Windows security settings for downloading applications and other potentially unsafe files from the Internet." Part? This smells INVALID, no?

Comment 4

[David E. Ross]

The warning window for "This download has been blocked ..." is a Firefox artifact, not part of Download Manager.  Thus, users of other Gecko-based applications will have no clue as to why downloads do not work.  

Furthermore, when the download progress popup merely indicates "Canceled" and the user selects the retry button (the circular arrow), it appears to the user that the download actually happens.  The progress popup will indicate bytes being downloaded, time already spent, and time remaining.  Viewing the Download Manager log afterwards, the user will see the expected number of bytes were downloaded.  

I followed the link in "Unable to download or save files" to "How to reset Internet Explorer settings" at <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737> and did the indicated steps to reset the settings.  That did solve my problem.  However, I'm not sure how I got non-default settings since I use Internet Explorer only to download and install Windows XP patches.  

I still think this is a Download Manager bug.  Users might not be aware of non-default settings.  After all, I'm an experienced software engineer (30+ years and now retired) and was not aware that my IE settings were no longer at their defaults.  

In any case, I'm not sure why Download Manager gives credence to the Windows Security Policy, especially since (1) I use a good anti-virus application and (2) Microsoft's software is prone to an ongoing series of security vulnerabilities.

Comment 5

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco/ :calixte]]

In the process of migrating remaining bugs to the new severity system, the severity for this bug cannot be automatically determined. Please retriage this bug using the new severity system.

Comment 6

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco/ :calixte]]

The severity field is not set for this bug.
:mak, could you have a look please?

For more information, please visit BugBot documentation.

Comment 7

[Marco Bonardo [:mak]]

This refers to the old download manager, the way we follow Windows policies is different today so not worth keeping this around.
A new bug should be filed in case someone can still reproduce this.