When I got the security message, I was using IE 7 with medium-high security settings. The message reads "Do you want to allow this webpage to access your Clipboard? If you allow this, the webpage can access the Clipboard and read information that you've cut or copied recently."
I admit I have never seen the warning while visiting any other website, to the best of my recollection. However, it's there, and it begs a few questions:
Why does the rivercityrailroad.com website ask for permission to access data stored on a visitor's Clipboard, and what is their justification and intended use for it?
Apparently the warning appears to some users and not others due to browser choice and/or security settings. If the warning does not appear, is the data not accessed, or can it be sent anyway, without the visitor's knowledge?
Is the warning coming up as a result of the website being hacked, and if so, are the owners aware of it?
Also, the Clipboard and a browser's cache are two different things. You can clear your cache and passwords and history all day long, and it will have no affect on your Clipboard. If you, say, copy some personal financial data in Excel and paste it to a Word document, and then decide to open your browser and visit the site to do some train shopping online, it's possible that you could transmit the financial data you have on your Clipboard to them (or, if it's a result of hacking, to whoever). No matter what, is it really necessary for them to know what's on your clipboard in order for you to do business with them? Absolutely NO.
Rich, I will visit the site using a number of browsers (IE8, Firefox, Google Chrome) and different security settings and let you know by PM, if you're interested, whether and at what settings I get the security message. If I were a customer, I would consider calling them and asking them what's up with it.
I apologize for going on and on, but I felt it was a matter worthy of further discussion.