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mhkoehler
Community Member

Unable to open pw protected attachment.

Hi! Trying to land my first job and I keep getting this message "The file you’re trying to download is password protected, and could not be scanned." when trying to open attachments. Any ideas?

9 REPLIES 9
kevin_maloney
Community Member

I have the same issue happening for me, haven't been able to find any answers yet.

Hoping someone who's had this issue can help us out. Sorry you're in the same boat! 

reneewilliams17
Community Member

I need to download a file and I am receiving this message. 

"The file you’re trying to download is password protected, and could not be scanned."

Hi All,

 

Thank you for flagging this for us. We'll check this with our team.

 

We appreciate your patience while we look into this.

 

Edited to add:

 

Thanks for flagging this suspicious file to us. The job has been taken down because it was in violation of Upwork ToS and action has been taken on the client account. 

 

Please, check this help article for more information on how to use the flag option found on each job post or message to report any suspicious or inappropriate content.

 

Also, check out this post for more tips on how to avoid questionable jobs.

 

~ Bojan
Upwork

Hi there! I am also having this problem!

The issue people are reporting is that Upwork doesn't permit transfer of password-encrypted files. It appears that Upwork is unable to scan such files and, in the absence of a scan, assumes the file could contain something bad. I understand the intent, but it is a real complication for clients who want to be careful sharing intellectual property.

 

Upwork's scanning limitation forces us to send encrypted files attached to email outside of Upwork message system.

Hi! I seem to be unable to download a file sent by a potential client. I included screenshots of the error code. Thanks in advance for any help!

Hi Natalie, 


I would like to confirm that actions have been taken against the client's account and job post for violating the Upwork Terms of Service. Please refrain from opening the zip file. 

I would recommend that you read up on these freelancer resources and these tips for avoiding questionable jobs, for help getting started, and for more information about working safely through Upwork.

 

 


~ Avery
Upwork

re: "Upwork's scanning limitation forces us to send encrypted files attached to email outside of Upwork message system."

 

Brad:

Don't worry about doing that.

 

Upwork DOES NOT have any restrictions against using email or other methods to share files between freelancers and clients.

 

Upwork is NOT a file transfer service. It's message system DOES HAVE PROBLEMS with various types of files, including files with encryption and password protection.

 

There will never be a time that Upwork is the right tool to use for all types of file transfers. That's not a service it offers. So the right thing to do is to use email or something else, such as FTP, Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive, etc.

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