When we make small corrections to our books with each printing, we also update the pdfs in our store so that everything matches. We also send out a link to the new pdf to all the customers who have purchased the pdf, even if the purchase was five years ago.
We do this so that everyone who bought the pdf has the most current version. The changes to these pdfs are minor – typos, small production issues, fixed photo credits etc. If there is a substantive error, we issue an errata on the blog.
This week we sent out pdf updates to both “Shaker Inspiration” and “The Intelligent Hand.” And we have received a ton of emails asking if these are spam, a virus, a spoof or something else evil and false.
They’re not. Clicking on the link will simply download the newest version of the pdf to your device. If you don’t want the newest version, don’t click the link.
Apologies if this is causing distress.
— Christopher Schwarz
Hi John and Chris,
I have bought both those books, but have never received a single PDF update –
any chance you can resend the links or point be to the URL where I can download ?
many thanks
Michael
________________________________
Michael,
Send a note to help@lostartpress.com with the full name you used to order and we’ll look into it. It’s an automated system and the pdfs go to the email you entered at checkout.
Unsolicited emails with ‘attachments’ or ‘click here’ are the primary vector for virus or other invasions of computers. Many antivirus programs will filter out such emails… Could be why some people aren’t getting them from you. A better, safer approach would be to send a password and instructions (NOT a link) to download them from your website or another repository. Anarchy (not your good kind) reigns on the Internet! Massive amounts of damage can be done by infected computers.
Sorry but our store software doesn’t allow any of those things.
Thank you for posting this. The pine has aged very well!
Sorry, I was trying to comment on the post regarding the pine bench. So much for my posting skills 🙁
I am a computer security professional and I teach a malware analysis course at the college level. While I appreciate that it is probably inconvenient for you to receive lots of suspicious sounding emails every time you send out a pdf update, what you’ve written in this blog post is reckless and inaccurate. Chris, you might not be sending out “nefarious” pdfs, but it is shockingly simple for someone to masquerade as you and send out email that looks like it’s coming from you. Not to mention that while you have obviously not yet been hacked, there is no certainty that you won’t be hacked tomorrow. By telling people that they can always trust stuff that appears to be coming from you you are making a false promise, as you can not control what messages they are actually receiving in their email inbox.
Thanks.
The updated Shaker Inspiration PDF is missing the cover page. Shame.
There’s no lock on the file. Add it yourself.
I wish we were still in the days where a hand shake meant something, and you’d look someone in the eye and tell them straight. Not that that ever happened in reality all the time, but it’s nice to imagine such a time where it was at least common.