Paging the Windows Vista-isti - Windows Defender

Since receiving my free Vista Home Premium from Microsoft a few days
ago I've been using it without issue. Apart from Windows Defender.

Everything is up-to-date but it won't permit three of my programmes
from starting with Windows

1) Adobe Update Manager (I don't care about this one, tbh)
2) DynDNS Updater (I want this to run)
3) Fraps (Ditto)

Evidently Vista has a 'saving idiots from themselves' part of the OS
called Windows Defender that pops up whenever you tell it to do
something remotely interesting which asks "Did you want me to do
something remotely interesting?" which doesn't like me so it sticks
all three of these pieces of software in the Blocked Startup Problems
area upon booting.

It's not helpful. Windows Defender shows these programs as 'not yet
classified'. It appears to be using Microsoft's SpyNet voting system
so I thought I'd have a look at how to vote for a product. It doesn't
appear to be possible. The MS SpyNet database votes appear to be
compiled from people who have opened Windows Defender, gone to Tools
and then Software Explorer.

I can see Fraps there with the options "Remove" "Disable" and "Enable"
- I would very much like to click 'Enable' but it's greyed out. I've
told it to show me "for all users" in case there's some hidden
Administrator account which I could log into (I'm set up as an
Administrator) but no, still Enable isn't there. This means I can't
'vote' for Fraps to be a good honest program and not Spyware.

As the next step in the process within Windoze Defender I went to
Options, scrolled down to Real-Time Protection Options and unchecked
the 'auto-start' protection (Help file definition of auto-start:
"Monitors lists of programs that are allowed to automatically run when
you start your computer. Spyware and other potentially unwanted
software can be set to run automatically when Windows starts. That
way, it can run without your knowledge and collect information. It can
also make your computer start or run slowly." - That sounds like it)
saved and rebooted.

It still blocked the programmes from auto-running.

I even took Fraps out of the registry incase that was pissing Defender
off and stuck it as a shortcut in the Start Menu but it doesn't like
that either.

So I turned off Windows Defender's Real-Time Protection entirely and
it's still blocking them from auto-running which sounds to me like
Windows Defender is still running even though it's off.

WTF am I supposed to do with this shit?

I'm not some computer noob by any degree but this one has me stumped.

 

BGN wrote:

Read this:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/02/20/anti-spyware_tests/

I'vue also read somewhere that it may be something to do with what
your programs are called (but can't find the link). e.g. install.exe
may run, but runmeandinstallavirus.exe may not.

You should have stuck with XP and waited for everyone else to hit the
bugs first.

 

1/ Tried turning off the service as a last ditch workaround ?

2/ After making changes you did reboot I take it ?

So far as I am running it myself on MCE2002 SP2, other than unclassified or
permitted it hasn't chosen any other action for programs yet, mind you I
didn't do the Spynet install option so I guess its running relatively light
on my system.
It has not shown any noticeable effect yet on my system in terms of the
"unclassified programs" also, but I also haven't really seen any popups
either.

Also my installation does not even show the permit enabling buttons.

Bear in mind any updates to the product version you might be running. This
is mine:

Windows Defender Version: 1.1.1593.0 Engine Version: 1.1.2503.0
Definition Version: 1.18.2547.1 Product ID: 81664-435-9680757-04792

For more information on Windows Defender and available support options,
visit http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=70604

 

I wasn't going to rely on Windows Defender to protect myself from the
big bad world. I've also got a virus checker, SpyBot and AdAware that
run sweeps every night in the wee hours.

I've just cured it.

Adobe Reader = Uninstalled and downloaded new version. No errors.
Fraps = The 'run as Administrator' box was checked in the shortcut by
default. Uncheck tick box and it auto-boots perfectly. No errors.
DynDNS Updater = I told it not to boot up with windows (Must have been
using CurrentUser../Run/ in the registry) and installed it as a
Service. No errors.

Thankfully I haven't had any hardware problems, just the software
auto-start issue so I've been quite lucky.

<looks at Printer and remembers that he hasn't printed anything since
Vista was installed>

 

I'm on:

Windows Defender Version: 1.1.1505.0 (Lower version than yours, I
notice - I just checked for updates and it's all up-to-date for Vista)
Engine Version: 1.1.2503.0
Definition Version: 1.18.2547.1

 

404 not found. Not a good advertisement.

 

BGN secured a place in history by writing:

Turn off UAC control, reboot and then try it.

Administrator doesn't actually give you full control of quite a lot of
stuff - discovered this when some software would only install by
temporarily disabling UAC. Having been round exactly the kind of loop
you're describing several times, I now have it permanently disabled.

Don't know this will work, but suspect it will....

 

I assume it's www.linuxmint.com....

However, I really don't think Linux is the solution - after battling
with several different versions last weekend I couldn't find a single
one that actually worked properly, 'out of the box' on my Shuttle.

 

I've got nothing against Linux, and have used it on and off (mostly
off) for a few years but I don't like the idea of having to buy 'the
most common piece of hardware' to get it working without issue. It's
fine for servers and all that but I'm not happy running it on my main
PC full time even though I use applications like OpenOffice and there
are many emulators/borks/workarounds to get things working properly. I
like the ease of use of Windows but I'm not a spyware magnet which is
why Windoze suits me.

 

It's working now with UAC on + Windows Defender on the highest
(default) setting - it turns out that some of the applications just
worked in the 'wrong' way by default. I'm sure I'll come up against
something else like this in the Vista lifecycle but I'm not planning
on chaning any of my hardware just yet so it *should* be quite stable
from now on.

 

http://www.freebsd.org/ ;-)

 

BGN secured a place in history by writing:

You will, I'm sure. But on the whole, I'm pretty pleased with Vista - in
stability terms it's far better than any previous MS OS release I can
remember. Most of the issues, as you say, seem to relate to third-party
problems rather than Vista problems per se.

I have some 'design' concerns, but can see why thing are as they are, even
though I may not like it. Nothing that I haven't been able to work around
yet.

Is your Vista machine networked to others? Some of the thorniest issues
I've had have been around sharing (print and folder) between Vista and XP.
I still haven't taken the time out to persuade Vista to use a shared
printer....

 

<>:

<SNIP>

FFS, you're only giving the linux wierdos more ammunition.

It's just like Nige posting about problems with his BMW when Lozzo's
reading.

 

See! See!

 

Format your hard disk and install a more flexible OS that won't nanny you.

HTH.

 

Were they not under tools quarantined items then? Software explorer in
the same tab is also useful.

I find the UAC a complete pain in the arse but I can see the logic. I
wish it would store the admin username and password and just require
an OK.

 

They weren't under the quarantined items otherwise I could have just
told them to permit access.

I even told UAC/Defender not to scan items in the folder they live in
but that didn't help.

 

I've not used File & Printer Sharing with Vista yet. The last time I
used it was in Win95/98 and it was *awful* so in all other versions
I've not bothered with it. It's been on occasionally for things like
Remote Desktop Connection or when I used the XBox Media Center so that
it would Samba into it but setting up a share from one Windoze PC to
another always seemed problematic and would jsut die without reason.