Would you bother with this bloke?

[Michael Hunter]

I had an email late last evening from someone wanting to prototype a miniature thing.
He sent a .STEP (3D) file : I don't do 3D so I could not open it.
I asked him to resend as a .dxf or .pdf which I could look at easily.

A new file arrived at about 1 in the morning - named PDFdesign.rar!
I don't have a rar viewer (isn't it only pawn brokers that need one of those?) so can't open it again.

Not sure if the bloke is being deliberately obtuse - and if the item really does need to be true 3D I probably can't make it anyway.
I'm inclined to ignore him, but wondered how others would handle this.

[Scott Shepherd]

RAR is a compression, like ZIP. You can get loads of free RAR unpacking tools online. It comes from Linux systems a lot, if I remember correctly. I see them from time to time.

[Bill Stearns]

Michael -
First and foremost: Any business asking to have work done, or asking to place an order, should be providing details as to who they are and where they are located. (In other words: verifiable contact information: phone, address, website, etc.) Did your contact provide this? Printing companies, I deal with, simply let prospective customers know which type of files, and formats, they accept - and leave it at that. I suppose your experience and capabilities with 3D types of work would tell you whether this contact is worth pursuing. ? (you've already said you don't do 3D?) Your post was kind' a sketchy as to what potential (sales) this project might offer you - I am thinking: sometimes it's best to simply e-mail back and explain "you can't be of help" - then, get on with whatever makes you money!

Bill

[John Bion]

Hi Michael,
Scott is correct, the .rar is a zip type file. I have use http://www dot winzip dot com/lanrar.htm to open them. The Chinese love sending documents to you using .rar I think the Link above gives you a free trial which later on you need to purchase to continue using it - or just get an iMac.
Alternatively, you could give the client my address (perhaps that is an indication as to whether I think he is at least worth looking at).
Kind Regards, John

[Curt Harms]

It probably goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway ) but I'd be cautious about there being more in that compressed archive than you were expecting, i.e. malware.

[Jiten Patel]

Download 7zip mate (free) or winrar and that should open that up - as everyone said, it's just another type of zip file.

[Clark Pace]

rar file format is is very common. But if you don't have 3D printer or mill and the unless the file is a 2.5d the laser probably won't be able to do the job anyways.

[Chuck Stone]

When you doubdle click on the .rar file it will show you what's in it so it can ask you
if you want to run it, save it, extract it etc.. It doesn't execute anything till you say so.
You can click on a file and select "View" to see a text file or a jpeg..
But if you see an executable, delete the whole thing.

[Michael Hunter]

Thanks chaps - I'm well aware of what rar is, but have never needed it.
The only time I came across is was when I was asked to help fix a broken computer - turned out it had been used for downloading pawn videos : it was full of rar files and, SURPRISE!, it was "broken" because of numerous viruses. A format-and-start-again job.

Since I asked for a pdf, why wrap it in a rar? The file is small (~50kB) so it can't have been too enormous before it was compressed.

I've left it all day and the guy hasn't come back, but maybe he is a complete night owl and a follow-up will come later.
Under Bill's rules he should definitely be ignored : only a gmail address, no phone, no quantity or even if he is local to me.
I have had a (very) few decent jobs start off like this, but I don't think this one is worth the trouble.

[David Somers]

Michael,

You may be aware of this, but if you get a number of files that are suspicious in nature but you feel you should open them anyway, you might consider a program like VM Workstation. It allows you to create a virtual machine on your computer with whatever OS you happen to own, and it is isolated from your primary machine. Once you have it built you can save that virtual machine while it is clean and guaranteed uninfected. Then go ahead and load up the suspect file in it and see if it actually is clean. If yes, you could copy it to a thumbdrive and then onto your primary machine. If it is infected don't fuss, just delete that copy of the virtual machine without saving and the entire environment is gone. You still have the clean copy of the OS ready to duplicate to use for testing another suspect file.

It is a useful tool to help protect the machine you rely on for business.

Just FYI.

Dave

[Dan Hintz]

If he sent a STEP file, he wants 3D. You already said you don't support 3D work, so I'd send him back a quick note letting him know you misunderstood his original intention and you are unable to do 3D work.

It solves the problem in a way that will not upset a potential customer (he could be real and may have other projects for you, just not this one).

[Robert Walters]

just delete that copy of the virtual machine...

No need to delete that copy of a virtual machine.

Just take a snapshot BEFORE opening a suspicious file, then REVERT TO SNAPSHOT afterwards.

[Rich Harman]

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss a 3d file as something that you can't laser. Almost everything I do starts out in a 3d format.

[Doug Griffith]

I use STEP files daily. It could just be an extruded profile that shows the laser cut part. The person expects you to pull the profile from it.