sub untaintMe {
  my ($self, $inputArg, $typeArg) = @_;
  my ($temp, $reason);
  my @returnArray;

  if ($typeArg eq 'path')  {
    $inputArg =~ /[\/\w\-._]+/;  # includes 'file' chars + "\"
    $temp = $&;
    $reason = $` . '...' . $';   # create the reason code
   }    
  
   if ($reason eq '...') # no mismatches found
     if ($temp ne '')  { 
       @returnArray = ($temp, "");
     }
     else { 
       @returnArray = ('', "invalid input, not enough characters to match $typeArg pattern");
     }
   }
   else {
     @returnArray = ('', "invalid input, string contains $reason");
   }
                        
   return @returnArray;
}