cocoaforge

Exactly what files are considered "safe"? How would this differ from say, safari?

Safe files inclue movies, pictures, sounds, PDF and text documents as well as disk images and other archives. They are the same as safaris safe files

In the file transfer pane of Adium's preferences their is an option called Open "Safe" files after receiving. With this option selected any files you receive from a file transfer in Adium will automatically open "Safe" once they are downloaded. "Safe" files include movies, pictures, sounds, PDF and text documents as well as disk images and other archives. These are called "Safe" because these types of files are never harmful to your computer. If you receive a file that is not "Safe" please consider who sent the file to you before opening it. The files will open using their default applications in the Finder. For example, unless you change the settings in the Finder, jepg images will open in preview.

For those of you that use Safari, this preference is the same as the one that can be found in Safari's preferences. The only difference is that the preference in Safari applies to downloads while the one in Adium applies to file transfers. The same files are considered "Safe" in both applications.