download "index.html"?

[Duthomhas]

My google-fu is not good enough to get an answer about this:

What is it?

I think it has something to do with advertisements, but that is just an impression I have formed.

Is this some kind of attack vector?
_{Yes, I guess that makes two questions now...}

[Ganado]

Sounds like some sort of HyperText Markup Language document.

No, but seriously, I'm curious as to what you are talking about...?

[Duthomhas]

Sooner or later you will get a pop-up asking if you want to download “index.html”.

As for the HTML stuff, yes, index.html is typically the default page served by a site. No web browser would mistake that as something to ask the user for download without a specifically modified .httpd or other site configuration, especially after properly displaying the page.

No, this is something else. And I do not know why I keep getting asked at various sites. Including cplusplus.com.

[George P]

Hmmmmmm, while this doesn't answer the question........

https://serverfault.com/questions/519642/fresh-install-of-nginx-causes-browser-to-download-index-html-instead-of-opening

[George P]

Sooner or later you will get a pop-up

I don't get popups 'cuz I restrict scripts, in-line ads and that popup nonsense.

Maybe you have some weird scripting caught in your cache.

[lastchance]

Just happened to me too, Duthomas, although it's the first time that I have seen it. Says something about "google syndication" and wants me to look in dropbox. I guess it's to do with the ads on this site and it's google's problem.

I was viewing the site on an (aged) iPad. I have yet to see any such problem from a PC.

[Duthomhas]

I have had it happen on both my PC and my phone, but I tend to keep to a dozen or so sites, none of them untrustworthy. (Things like news and SO and here and the like. FB might be the culprit...)

I am using a fairly recent version of Vivaldi on my PC.
(I’m going to update my phone to use something other than Chrome, whose updates have been ticking me off lately.)

I wonder if Furry Guy’s suggestion is correct. I’ll clean my caches shortly.

[dutch]

Lots of people talking about it:
https://www.google.com/search?q=website+asking+me+to+download+"index.html"

In particular (with all posts from this last week):
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251094484
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/strange-download-pop-up-index-html-bug-or-malware.2222180/

[Duthomhas]

Yep, seen that. None of those offer solutions to the current phenomenon.

My PC is Windows/Fedora and my phone is Android. Nothing Apple. (My iPad is currently retired — no sense in spending for internet connectivity on an extra device when I don’t need it.)

Alas.


[edit] Currently in the middle of something, so I haven’t cleaned my browser’s caches yet...

[George P]

It has been more than a few days, D. Any new news and/or developments on the situation?

[Duthomhas]

Alas, no.

This is one of those things that annoy me infrequently, and my time is usually occupied by more pressing needs.

If I learn anything before this archives I will definitely update here.