Programming dilemma: what way ?

[sb5309]

My associate has compiled a web book. To read the web book, a reader
is required. The reader is available freely on the internet, ie can be
downloaded.

To download and install from the internet (file format is EXE file),
an warning message will be displayed by a browser (IE/Firefox/Opera).

My associate wants to get rid of the warning message; he wants the
reader to be installed silently so that the user will not notice it !!

Without resorting to writing a virus, is there a way out of this ?

Thanks.

 

[Robert Klemme]

My associate has compiled a web book. To read the web book, a reader
is required. The reader is available freely on the internet, ie can be
downloaded.

To download and install from the internet (file format is EXE file),
an warning message will be displayed by a browser (IE/Firefox/Opera).

My associate wants to get rid of the warning message; he wants the
reader to be installed silently so that the user will not notice it !!

That's a very bad idea. Everybody with the slightest interest in
maintaining a virus free Windows system will block automated execution
of executables.

Without resorting to writing a virus, is there a way out of this ?

Use PDF - or an Applet.

robert

 

[Andrew Thompson]

My associate has compiled a web book. To read the web book, a reader
is required.

Why not deploy the information using JavaHelp
and webstart?

It could be done *sandboxed* if the user can do
without such things as favorites and printing.

You might even offer a number of versions. One
entirely snadboxed, the other with favorites
and printing.

I had some examples of JavaHelp up at my
site, including one that had a collection
of 'homoeopathic herbal information' pages,
complete with search.. but it is off-line
for the time-being. :-(

 

[Eric Sosman]

My associate has compiled a web book. To read the web book, a reader
is required. The reader is available freely on the internet, ie can be
downloaded.

To download and install from the internet (file format is EXE file),
an warning message will be displayed by a browser (IE/Firefox/Opera).

My associate wants to get rid of the warning message; he wants the
reader to be installed silently so that the user will not notice it !!

What a moronic idea.

Without resorting to writing a virus, is there a way out of this ?

If your associate succeeds, his program will *be* a virus.