From: John Tserkezis 
Reply-To: Fidonet AVtech Echo 

Jasen Betts wrote:

> It seems the cookie files are engineered so that they don't start with
"MZ"

  Yes, but not for that reason, they are not executables, so they don't 
contain any code, or any indication of any code.

  Not only that, the _actual_ format of a cookie file is not fixed, it's 
up the browser that you're using.  It's the browser who is the only 
application that's going to be reading them, so it can store them in any 
format it likes.  Individual files, one big database, files + index, a 
combination....

> Anyway stick a .EXE filename extension on aything and the system will try
> to run it, as a .COM format file (raw binary) if it doesn't start with
"MZ"

  Not quite, the OS (or at least DOS, I'm assuming windows is the same) 
treats EXE and COM files the same.  It doesn't find out if they're EXE 
or COM till it opens and takes a peek.  If it starts with MZ, (the 
initials of the guy who laid out the format of EXE files if I recall) 
then it's an EXE, otherwise it's a plain machine language COM.

> but unless something starts renaming the files or makes a special effort
> cookies won't run.

  The chance of that happening is nil.  Not only don't they know _how_ 
cookie files are stored, there is no mechanisim to rename them either.

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