My specific case is [on my answer here](https://superuser.com/a/412756/117590).

Is there any policy (on SuperUser or StackExchange) in either direction concerning providing an executable I uploaded myself for others to download? Of course, it is/must be relevant to the answer.

I would assume the main worry is malware, and therefore trust of the answerer (and how seriously the answerer takes security of their own computers). Obviously, it is entirely the user's choice whether to trust and download or not.

Does it make any difference if there is an alternative in the answer that does not require downloading the file (in this particular case, running/compiling the script yourself)?

This question also applies to other, non-executable downloads. We all know there are vulnerabilities in programs such as Microsoft Office that can be exploited through malicious documents.