Ho-ly. Curius, I searched: tomshardware requesting I download file and got:
Recent reports from August 2026 indicate that users accessing Tom's Hardware on mobile browsers experienced unexpected file download requests (with a link to your comment) while viewing specific content. Similar issues occurred historically, where buggy ad servers or site scripts triggered empty "usnc" file downloads or 0-byte files on devices lacking adblockers.
Current and Historical Context
The unexpected prompt you are seeing is a known behavior that has resurfaced recently. On August 30, 2026, mobile users browsing via Safari on iOS reported that loading articles—specifically regarding a recent 12TB Steam leak—triggered an unsolicited prompt asking them to download a file.
This matches historical patterns where technical glitches or external elements on the platform caused automated downloads...
And then it lists a couple of times it happened in the past.
As a millennial that played the original Half Life... I've seen this movie too many times and my heart has been broken too many times.
Existing thread from today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49498002
This website is requesting that I download a file on mobile… Can anyone duplicate?
Nope (iOS Safari)
Thanks, I too am using iOS and Safari. Very strange.
Ho-ly. Curius, I searched: tomshardware requesting I download file and got:
Recent reports from August 2026 indicate that users accessing Tom's Hardware on mobile browsers experienced unexpected file download requests (with a link to your comment) while viewing specific content. Similar issues occurred historically, where buggy ad servers or site scripts triggered empty "usnc" file downloads or 0-byte files on devices lacking adblockers.
Current and Historical Context The unexpected prompt you are seeing is a known behavior that has resurfaced recently. On August 30, 2026, mobile users browsing via Safari on iOS reported that loading articles—specifically regarding a recent 12TB Steam leak—triggered an unsolicited prompt asking them to download a file.
This matches historical patterns where technical glitches or external elements on the platform caused automated downloads...
And then it lists a couple of times it happened in the past.