The majority of work on version 12.0 went into two aspects. The THDEXARC
format (outlined in detail in THDEXARC.TXT) and the creation of an OS/2 native
version of THD ProScan. Differences between the DOS and OS/2 versions are
outlined in NOTES.OS2 which is included only with the OS/2 native version.
*********************************************************************
** In recognition of the superior compression of the RAR archiver, **
** THD ProScan is now being released with RAR compression. **
*********************************************************************
This program is originally released in Self-Extracting form due to the
rarity of the archiver at this point. It is my hope that at some point in the
not too distant future I will be able to release it without the need for the
SFX header. At the time of release of this program, the current version of the
RAR archiver is RAR_155.EXE. (Filename may vary depending on your global
location)
Future versions of THD ProScan will be released with the following name
convention...
THD_??_?.EXE [DOS]
or
THD2??_?.EXE [OS/2]
> Product Identification
| > Platform indicator ("_" for DOS or "2" for OS/2)
| | > major version number
| | | > minor version number
| | | | > File extension ("EXE" or possibly "RAR" in future)
| | | | |
THD_??_?.EXE
LAST MINUTE CHANGES/ADDITIONS
-----------------------------
Changes listed in this area were made at the last minute and are not
documented in THDDOC.TXT.
GIFTEST.CFG
-----------
A change (undocumented elsewhere) allows the use of a GIFTEST
configuration file instead of the standard "GIFTEST -T" command line normally
used. If you SET GIFCFG={path to GIFTEST.CFG}, THDPRO.EXE will send the
command line
...\GIFTEST.EXE /C:{path to GIFTEST.CFG} {path to GIF}
instead of the standard "...\GIFTEST.EXE -t {path to GIF}" used otherwise.
SAVED DESCRIPTIONS
------------------
Another change (undocumented elsewhere). In cases where THDPRO.EXE
replaces the description in the BBS FDB files with its reason for failure, the
original description will be put into THDPRO.LOG. This feature is (of course)
only active assuming THDPRO.EXE gets far enough to actually extract a
description from the original archive.
Be aware that the description is put into THDPRO.LOG "without"
modification and will reflect "precisely" the description obtained from the
archive (bad formatting, high ASCII, and extra long descriptions included).
PASSWORD PROTECTED ARCHIVES
---------------------------
An option has been added to have THDPRO.EXE supply the needed password
when extracting archives which are password protected. This is accomplished by
using a file called PASSWORD.THD which must be located in the THDPRO.EXE
directory.
The file consists of one entry per line of
ARCHIVE.NAME ARCHIVE_TYPE PASSWORD
See the PASSWORD.TXT file distributed with the archive for details.
THDINSTL.EXE will allow you to select WILDCAT 4.xx as your BBS TYPE.
However, THDPLUS does not support this option. The entry was added in the
hopes that someone who already owns BTREE FILER will create an interface using
the TESTINFO.DAT record, and this option allows THDPRO.EXE to create a Wildcat
specific TESTINFO.DAT for this purpose. At the time of release, there is no
known utility to use this option.
-----------------end last minute additions--------------------
The problem with GIF files failing the virus scan has been corrected.
Valid GIF files are no longer virus scanned as they cannot propagate viral
activity.
The problem with duplicate entries in TG3 (2.99 Gamma) releases has been
fixed. THD will not "add" an entry to TG3 bases unless you specifically
SET THDOPT=ADD or append the "/ADD" switch to the command line. THDPLUS no
longer needs to be removed or renamed to run with TG3's native TESTINFO.DAT
support.
The command line for F-PROT has been corrected to not cause the allfiles
pause to occur (introduced in F-Prot 2.18e).
Version 12.0 introduces the THDEXARC format which allows THDPRO.EXE to be
configured to recognize archives other than those supported internally. As
well it can also be used to run additional virus scanners. For a complete
explanation of THDEXARC, please see THDEXARC.TXT.
ARJ SFX recognition routines have been significantly improved.
A problem with RAR password protected files pausing for input has been
corrected. As well, on some systems testing of RAR types could occasionally be
prematurely halted and in some multitasking systems the keyboard buffer was
inadvertently being stuffed with a CTRL-C. This has been corrected.
The log size entry has been modified to accept a number instead of the
previous multiple choice size selection. Selecting "0" allows no logs to be
kept. Selecting any negative number results in an unlimited log size.
Conversion of archives with odd names has been significantly improved. The
conversion routines have been overhauled and are much more accurate in their
conversions than previously.
Added the ability to create a runtime log file for tracking of unusual
problems. This feature should not be used unless specifically requested by the
author. It is enabled by SET THDRUNLOG={path to log file}. Use of this
variable will significantly decrease the speed of operation.
Dropped internal support for the 1.?.? series of SCAN.EXE from McAfee. If
you feel you need this support you can add it back using THDEXARC.
Ansi detection time is now configurable for those systems which felt that
there was insufficient time for ansi detection. This version allows values
from 1 to 255 seconds.
This version introduces the ability to "envelope" non archives into an
archive (to "zip" uploaded *.TXT files etc).
Hacklist support now supports the BADFILES.CTL file format in addition to
the formats supported by earlier versions.
Changed THDPLUS' T.A.G. support to properly account for multinode setups.
Changed THDPLUS to allow adding of GIFSPECS. [RA only]
Added the ability to limit The time and/or space used by THDPRO.EXE to test
files. With "some" of the supported types, THD can also predetermine that
these limits will be exceeded and not test the file. these options can be
over-ridden by the use of the "/OV" command line switch which causes
THDPRO.EXE to avoid testing for these limits.
Fixed the adding of loaders to ZIP converted archives which in version
11.0 caused a corrupted "AV".
Added a /RO command line switch which allows THDPRO.EXE to test a file
with absolutely no changes to the original file (useful for CD-ROMs which are
not autodetected or for preserving the original file).
CHGINFO was modified to improve on it's "search" for FILES.BBS files.
Introduced "deep" removal. Removal of files during conversion mode will
now search all subdirectories and all imbedded archives for files matching
your removal list. This is only active during conversions as it's far too
complex to attempt this when conversions are not being done.
Added support for UNP v 4.11. UNP is a compressed file expander. It can be
used to expand compressed files prior to scanning and this can increase the
odds of virus detection considerably. Since UNP will modify the original files
this action is only available in TEST mode and is not available during
conversion or convert-only modes.
Pressing "P" during a dos process instructs THDPRO.EXE to pause prior to
returning from the dos process. This allows you time to review errors or other
output from the various dos processes. Note that "some" applications may clear
the keyboard buffer thus stopping THD from knowing that you have pressed the
"P". Once paused, press any key to resume normal testing.
The "cloning" of LHA files has been improved. In addition extra checks are
now performed on ZIP - LHA - ARJ - RAR file types.
SET THDZIP=true (lower case) now functions correctly.
A fossil problem which caused some systems to lock up if carrier was lost has
been addressed and should be fixed.
THDTERM version 6.0 is functionally identical to version 5.0. Changes were
made to make the source compatible with OS/2 (thus the version change). The
DOS version requires only THDTERM.EXE to operate. The OS/2 version requires
THDTERM.OVL be located in the current directory for configuration purposes but
should run in normal mode without it. (THDTERM.OVL is neither needed nor
provided with the DOS version).