PDF on my SaaS site flagged as a dangerous download

[mich6]

I maintain a SaaS website. When logged into the site, users are able to generate and download PDFs. These files are generated on the fly by the web server, they're not simply files sitting on the web server's file system.

One of our users also uses McAfee WebAdvisor, and they told me that WebAdvisor is flagging up our PDF download with this message:

"Whoa, that download is dangerous!

We found that there might be viruses, spyware, or other potentially unwanted programs in the file you are trying to download"

I don't use WebAdvisor myself so I'm not in a great position to investigate further. Can anyone tell me what might trigger this message? Is WebAdvisor actually scanning the file, or has the domain been flagged up for some reason? Is there anything I can ask my user to check, in order to get more information?

I'm pretty sure the file is safe! The user says they downloaded it anyway, without any obvious ill effects.

[rhonda23]

I have a similar issue with my website (coded in php and codeigniter).   I have an ecommerce store that uses sessions to recognize users.  Users can view and download their .pdf purchase invoice. McAfee shows the .pdf download as dangerous - I think because the pdf shows up as blank if it is not the correct user. I am just starting out and need to correct this immediately.

[sivasubramanian]

Hi @mich6, 

Please ask the user to try adding the domain under WebAdvisor Manage your trusted sites. Below is how to do it.

1. Right click on the WebAdvisor add-on and select Options.
2. Under Manage your trusted sites, the user should the add domainname.com and click the + symbol.
3. Close and re-open the browser, check if the issue still persists.

[develyp]

Hello, I am having similar issues where my .PDF files are being flagged as dangerous by webadvisor. I would like to know how I can avoid this as my files are basic PDFs and are not containing any sort of malicious content. This is for clients site and really need this prevented for future visitors.

[onlythehorses]

I can recommend you to convert your pdf files online and save them as jpg. Had the same problem.