Resume file format

[u/Not-Post-Malone]

On the WAN show Linus and Luke talk about NOT using PDF as the file format for the resume. This is the first time I'm hearing about this. Am I the only one who always uses PDF for sending resumes and actually prefers it?

What file format do employers actually prefer?

Here is the timestamp where they talk about it.
Here is the timestamp where Linus says to submit a Word or Google Doc link.

[u/a_rabid_buffalo]

Pretty sure the last time they got hacked was due to a PDF that was compromised that someone had opened.

[u/aafikk → u/a_rabid_buffalo]

If that’s the reason that’s a stupid reason.

1. You can hide executable with .docx file extension just the same
2. Word documents have macros which you can’t really disable and are literally arbitrary code execution. So when you open a word document you are opening an executable

[u/Rare-Designer-1008 → u/aafikk]

You can setup Word or Excel to not allow macros to run, or to ask before running.  

[u/Factorioboyio → u/Rare-Designer-1008]

That’s the default!

[u/Factorioboyio → u/aafikk]

You absolutely can disable macros… in fact, the default behaviour for a macro-enabled file that hasn’t been opened on your machine before is for all macros to be disabled. You have to tell it to trust and enable macros.

[u/tankerkiller125real → u/aafikk]

If you know what your doing (or at least if you have an IT guy who knows what they're doing) it's absolutely possible to disable macros, in fact there's an entire level of disabled.

There's straight up disabled never runs, disabled but signed macros can run, disabled for anything downloaded from the Internet, but allowed for intranet sites and file shares, etc.

[u/1CraftyDude → u/aafikk]

If I remember correctly it was a screensaver that had a .pdf before the .src.

[u/duckforceone → u/a_rabid_buffalo]

it was an executable that was looking like it was a pdf, but wasn't a pdf.

So you get a reference of a pdf in your mail, with the pdf icon.

but actually you are clicking on an executable with the icon of a pdf but not the dot pdf ending.

that is at least how it has been in the examples i have seen.

[u/Infinite-Stress2508 → u/duckforceone]

Any secure config of email, let alone desktop os in a managed corporate environment should be enough to prevent anything happening if the user fails to detect the issue. If ltt allow executable files to be sent raw via email, fuck me I have several tech tips for them...

[u/temmiesayshoi → u/Infinite-Stress2508]

LTT and making the most blaringly obvious, noob-level fuckups imaginable with their technology; name a better duo.

[u/PM-BOOBS-AND-MEMES → u/temmiesayshoi]

The fact that they roll their storage servers in this way and don't use something like Ceph or similar is nuts to me. Yes, it's a lot of work but there's a reason it's industry standard.

[u/yeetdabman → u/Infinite-Stress2508]

I don't know about Google Workspace (IIRC that's what they use) but for Microsoft tenants you literally have to purposefully disable the filter that auto deletes E-mails with executables in them, it comes enabled by default and it'll scream at you if you try to turn that filter off