GUEST,Rossey wrote: My two questions are: 1. by clicking on the page am I giving data away to cyber-criminals? 2. I never click on the download here button. If I did what would likely happen?

1 - Assuming you are using a modern supported browser, the only data you will give them is your IP address, some preferences for the response you'd like (e.g. language) and maybe some cookies. The site could contain code that works out what browser and operating system you're using, whether you're blocking stuff, whether you have certain features like Flash Player - which has numerous security flaws. So if you were using Win 7 and IE, which is insecure, they could send you some malware tailored to that. From the advertising cookies it might work out what sort of sites you browse and tailor an attack based on your predilections.

2 - If you're running 'antivirus' software (including Microsoft's built in security stuff) it should scan the download and tell you whether it's malware - maybe 'quarantine' it. If this were really clever malmare, or new, it might use a method not previously detected - a so-called 'zero day' - and the AV wouldn't detect it. Or it might evade detection by changing frequently - like virus variants.

If the AV didn't trigger then it depends whether you open it: that's when you may have a problem. Some AV programs check a file when you open it. Some operating systems might open things automatically based on what it thinks they are - it may look like an mp3 so it might index it - but it may not be.

If you have a file you're suspicious of, or you're using an old unsupported system, you can send it to a site called Virus Total which checks against all AV signatures.