Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2016 January 27

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January 27

SHA1 checksum for Firefox 44.0

I downloaded and installed the US English version of Firefox from firefox.com but it came with all sorts of non-English and suspicious looking addons. I doubled-checked the HTTPS connection to firefox.com and that its certificate is genuine, as far as I can tell. https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-44.0-SSL&os=win64&lang=en-US[1] was the exact download link I used.

Does Mozilla publish SHA1 checksum for their Firefox binaries so that I can verify what I downloaded was genuine or not? Johnson&Johnson&Son (talk) 06:26, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

For reference, what I downloaded[[2]] has a SHA1 hash of a6f058b8fd8430db0f87746c331877e7f3c40078. Johnson&Johnson&Son (talk) 06:29, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

I managed to find this link[3], but it's a little outdated. The example http://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/3.6.13/ still works, but unfortunately http://releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/4.40 doesn't work. Johnson&Johnson&Son (talk) 10:49, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

If you already had Firefox installed, bear in mind installing a new version isn't generally going to remove addons. If you had it installed at some stage but uninstalled it, the addons may still hang around. If you never had Firefox installed, it's still possible other software may have set themselves to be added to Firefox if you even installed it. Particularly malware.

Browsing this directory [4], you should be able to find the hashes that Mozilla published for your release. For 44.0 (not 4.40 which never existed) the SHA2-512 hashes are here [5] and it's c4ef058366ae0e04de87469c420761969ee56a03d02392a0cc72e3ced0f21be10e040750f02be3a92b6f25e5e2abdc30180169ae2bc84ef85c5343fdf9b632cf.

There are no MD5 or SHA1 hashes, I presume Mozilla stopped publishing them a while ago considering neither are considered secure. However unlike MD5, the cost of generating a SHA1 collision (particularly a useful SHA1 collision) is as far as we know, high enough that I think it's fairly unlikely that you happened to have a version with the same SHA2-512 hash but a different SHA1. And I can confirm that the file I just downloaded has the same SHA2-512 as I see published my Mozilla and SHA1 that you published. [6] also has the same SHA1.

Note however I did not verify the hash file I downloaded using the GnuPG [7] which means if my connection was also compromised, my hashes are useless. Note also if you do have malware, any hash you generate, any certificate that appears genuine, any verification of the hash file is basically useless. (And even if you went through this much effort fo all the software you ever downloaded and ran on your computer, the existing of bugs means it's still impossible to be certain you don't have malware.)

However most malware doesn't go that far. In fact, I can only imagine the certificates ever really happens unless you were particularly targetted e.g. by a very dedicated and smart individual, or a criminal group or an intelligence agency, who for some reason are out to get you. Of course if this is happening, you may not be reading my message (either at all or in original form) either so....

Presuming you're correct about weird addons, personally I think the most likely thing is your system was already somewhat compromised but the software you just downloaded is the genuine original file.

Nil Einne (talk) 13:18, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

Thanks. Seems like it's indeed the add-ons from a previous "dirty" installation of Firefox that's causing the problem. I tried uninstalling firefox, restarting, and installing it again but all the add-ons from the previous version is still there. How do I prevent this from happening? I want to completely wipe everything Firefox related, and then install from one of the SHA512 verified binaries. I'm on Windows 10. Johnson&Johnson&Son (talk) 04:37, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

I would try a Firefox "refresh". Uninstalling Firefox does nothing because it doesn't touch your profile, which is where extensions, settings, and the like usually live. Uninstalling simply removes the program files. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 05:06, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

Also, if you haven't you should scan your computer with some anti-malware software. Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool is a good place to start. Maybe also try MalwareBytes and Spybot – Search & Destroy. And ensure you are running antivirus and anti-malware software. Microsoft Security Essentials is free to anyone with a registered copy of Windows, and it seems to be good enough, although there are plenty of other choices. --71.119.131.184 (talk) 05:17, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

YES! Thank you so much! The refresh was exactly what I needed. Much appreciated! Johnson&Johnson&Son (talk) 05:42, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

BrowserFox is one of the malwares I had on my home computer recently, and it would persist addons across new browser installs (notably "OutrageousDeals!" adware). It may be worth it to run a malware scan using your favorite application and see if it picks up anything. FrameDrag (talk) 14:36, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

Windows Batch File Repair

I've Googled how to repair Windows Batch Files and can only find how-tos on repairing Windows with batch files.

How do I repair an improperly working Batch File containing a game?? Theskinnytypist (talk) 18:56, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

Just open it in a text editor (not a word processor that adds unwanted characters) and edit it, then re-save. Dbfirs 19:32, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

A batch file is a batch of commands. Batch files execute the commads listes in it. NOTEPAD.EXE – also called "Editor" comes with Windows. It allows You to view and edit batch files. Later versions of DOS came with EDIT.EXE. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 12:26, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

A "repair" is You to get the original file or reprogramm it Yourself. Careful, You are dealing with executable commands that can make changes to Your computer! --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 12:28, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

If the batch file was "damaged" (ie the contents were changed somehow) - and you didn't actively change it - then the odds are good that it's totally corrupt. Even if the damage is just a few characters - unless you know a lot about batch files (and you clearly don't) - AND a lot about how your game needs to be launched (tough for anyone to figure out) - then I very much doubt you'll be able to repair it with a text editor. Not because it can't be done - it certainly can - but because you need so much other knowledge that you don't have - and may not even be able to get. So in all probability, you'll have to re-install that file from wherever you got the game - which probably means you'll have to re-install the game itself. SteveBaker (talk) 14:59, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

Finding where in my computer an open document is located

When I'm in finder and highlight some document, say after a search, I know where exactly it's located in my computer because it tells me at the bottom of the finder window. I can also click Command+I and that will also tell me its saved location. However, if I have a document open, say a Word document, and want to be told where that document is saved in my computer, how do I do that? (*Command+I" in an open document just invokes italics). I know of indirect ways. For example, I could copy and paste some unique text from it and do a search, but I was thinking there must be some easier and more direct way. Thank you.--108.21.87.129 (talk) 18:58, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

In most applications, including Microsoft Office, you can just click "save as" and it will show the current saved location as the default. Dbfirs 19:38, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

(ec) It probably depends on version, but in Word Starter 2010, just click on File, and you will see the document location under "Information about <file name>". Rojomoke (talk) 19:43, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

Ah, I've figured it out. Save as is not reliable. In excel for example it always tries to save in the last location where you saved any excel file, and not the location where the file you have open is from (a terrible feature). But the answer is that, while I don't have the facility Rojomoke describes, I can click on properties from the file menu tab, and in there click on the general tab where the location is set out.--108.21.87.129 (talk) 20:51, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

My older version of Excel does that only for a regular save, but I'm glad you've found a solution. Dbfirs 21:24, 27 January 2016 (UTC)

On OS X, you can Command+Click the document icon on most NSWindows. (It's the little icon, usually immediately to the left of the file name, in the window's Title Bar). This will show you the file system representation for the document that is open. You can also drag-and-drop the document icon onto Terminal or a text-editor, and it will emplace the pathname of the document in the terminal.

Most applications, including Microsoft Word for OS X, provide this "smart" document icon feature.

Once the UI springs up, you can select the parent folder and immediately open a Finder window there. Or, you can drag the icon from the open window's title bar onto a dock icon for a different application (if that application knows how to open the file type).

I can't seem to recall the name for this amazing UI feature; but here is technical documentation about how it works: NSWindow setTitleWithRepresentedFilename: (and window:shouldPopUpDocumentPathMenu:).

I want to say that the common name for this feature is the "active document icon" or "smart document icon" or something to that effect. If you play with the feature, it can do all kinds of other useful things related to drag-and-drop.

Nimur (talk) 00:04, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

Thanks! That is a very satisfactory answer to a question I had for a long time! --Stephan Schulz (talk) 13:58, 28 January 2016 (UTC)

Another option: type the file name you want (or text from it) into Spotlight, then when you have the one you want selected hit Cmd+R. Blythwood (talk) 21:58, 29 January 2016 (UTC)