Solved Chrome and Dowloads

[kodakjack]

I belong to a discussion group where we share ideas and modifications to RC vehicles. In the past, I have downloaded STL and zip files without a problem. Now, I get a message from Chrome that says it thinks both types of files are "Dangerous" and won't let me download them. It won't even let me override the warning. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[dg1261]

Try a different browser. You'll increasingly find more and more of that over-protective, "false positive" behavior from the modern browsers, so try testing a few older versions. You might also have better luck with forks of the major browsers instead of the major browsers themselves -- such as Brave or Opera instead of Chrome, and PaleMoon or Waterfox instead of Firefox.

I recommend trying out portable versions rather than the regular "installable" versions. That way, you can easily test and discard at will, without having to worry about the test making permanent changes to your system.

• Portable Brave
• Portable Waterfox
• Portable Pale Moon

When you find a portable app that works to your satisfaction, you can keep it for downloading your RC stuff but use your regular Chrome on a daily basis for everything else.

 

[kodakjack]

I hate to show my lack of savvy, but with Chrome as my default, how do I get Firefox to run. I don't think I deleted it after I went to Chrome, but I'm not sure how to get it to run temporarily. Thanks.

 

[dg1261]

I hate to show my lack of savvy, but with Chrome as my default, [...] I'm not sure how to get [another browser] to run temporarily.

You launch the other browser first, then within it navigate to your websites.

So let's backup and review a bit ... there are primarily two ways to launch a browsing session: (1) Launch the browser, then navigate to the website you want; or (2) click a shortcut link to a website and your system will say, "Oh, that's a web link so I'll launch your default browser for you and continue directly on to that website."

Unless you specify otherwise (per method 1), your system will assume you want it to launch and use your "default" browser -- Chrome, in your case. If you care, you can change the default your system will use, but in your case I don't think that's what you're after. I think you're satisfied with your default browser except for how it behaves on a select few websites. So the solution to that is to deliberately launch your alternate browser, then enter (or cut-and-paste) the website you want to go to in the URL bar.

In the case of portable apps, you download an app's zip file and unzip the contents to its own folder somewhere (anywhere -- it could even be on your desktop) on your system. Since they don't get "installed" they won't appear in your "All Programs" menu, so to launch it you open its folder and double-click the .exe file.

Note that you can often have both browsers open at the same time, which is handy for when you want to cut-and-paste the URL from one browser's URL bar to the other browser.

 

[kodakjack]

Thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

I got it to work by re-downloading Firefox. Thanks for the help. OBTW, isn't there anything to disable in Chrome that would allow the downloads? It seems a little extreme to have to use another browser to be able to download certain file types.

 

[dg1261]

isn't there anything to disable in Chrome that would allow the downloads? It seems a little extreme to have to use another browser to be able to download certain file types.

I know, but alas, that's the way browsers are evolving these days. Chrome, in particular, seems in recent years to have taken a more Apple-esque stance, in that, "We don't care what you want, you'll do what we tell you to do."

I frequently run across websites that don't work correctly anymore because of something Google or Mozilla changed in a browser update. Sometimes you can revert something in advanced settings (see chrome://flags in Chrome, or about://config in Firefox), but even if you can, you'll just be playing whack-a-mole every time the browser updates itself ... and they update way too often, IMHO.

Personally, I don't install any browsers on my system -- other than Edge/Internet Explorer (which thanks to Microsoft, you can't get rid of), even though I never use them. I rely instead on portable browsers, and keep auto-update turned off. Every so often I'll download an updated version, but because they're portable I can keep multiple versions around for the times when the newer version balks at something. When that happens, I can drop back to the earlier version or try a different browser. There are only so many hours in a day, and I don't care to waste them troubleshooting browser problems every few weeks.

I also do web design, so it's helpful for me to be able to test webpages in different browsers. Mainly for that reason, I'm currently using portable versions of Firefox 85 and 97, Waterfox 2022.02, Pale Moon 28.7, Chrome 94 and 105, Brave 96, and Opera 85.

You don't need that many, but I'd argue there's a benefit to having perhaps three to choose from, of differing brands and/or versions.

 

[kodakjack]

I agree with what you're saying and appreciate the help. It's like getting Windows updates a few years ago where you had to make sure they weren't ramming Windows 10 down your throat inside of an update to 7. You get what they decide you're going to get.