Steven Avery
May 17th, 2009, 09:05 AM
Hi Folks,
I am interested in the issue of solid programs with a good rep using direct disk access. (Clearly a marginal program you say no.) Why they do it, whether you should just say no, whether their programs should be encouraged to have a configuration option, do any programs offer a configuration option, stuff like that.
Also what is the propensity for harm and difficulties. Not so much with sandboxes and virtual boxes, that is likely a given that something bad could happen or you could be overruling your security protocols. Although defrag difficulties come to mind, you might easily clash those two unawares. (Thinking out loud here.)
Two recent examples were Anvir Task Manager and Free Disk Usage Analyzer (Extensoft), I have one or two others that came up, but names not in mind. Perhaps they do it for speed, perhaps for better access to hidden or system areas, perhaps for external partition searching, maybe other reasons. At Extensoft I put a post in asking their explanation, Anvir is a current install of one of their regular products (available as a special freebie), I have used their free product lightly in the past.
Note: Online Armor will show you what programs you have allowed, (accept/ask/block) however you have to look program by program, with a special mouse-click to the back screen, not on a graph like I think Zone Alarm and Kerio/Outpost and some others might have. With Online Armor, looking in history is another possibility with its own vicissitudes. Thus you can always find out what programs you have allowed, if you do allow .. and change the settings ... however it is a bit of work.
Now I realize that Wilder's folks will likely mostly say "no - don't allow". However I wonder if their could be a thread discussing why, when, who -- to handle this whole situation.
Here are additional questions to the ones above ? Do all the programs run ok if you say no ? Should you dump some of the programs if they can't handle it properly ?
As an aside, Anvir is particularly pushy. A global hook message came up, I actually got a BSOD about an invalid kernel something after the install and now it wants to do something with DNS. However I only mention that because it got me to thinking more. At the moment all is fine, I am hoping to use the program more .. possibly. That may be another thread.
Let's focus mostly on direct disk access on this one.
Oh, clearly super-security programs like UnhackMe might ask for such access, or Hex Editors, special boot utilities, this and that. So if you make a rule not to allow, where do you draw the lines ?
Shalom,
Steven Avery
I am interested in the issue of solid programs with a good rep using direct disk access. (Clearly a marginal program you say no.) Why they do it, whether you should just say no, whether their programs should be encouraged to have a configuration option, do any programs offer a configuration option, stuff like that.
Also what is the propensity for harm and difficulties. Not so much with sandboxes and virtual boxes, that is likely a given that something bad could happen or you could be overruling your security protocols. Although defrag difficulties come to mind, you might easily clash those two unawares. (Thinking out loud here.)
Two recent examples were Anvir Task Manager and Free Disk Usage Analyzer (Extensoft), I have one or two others that came up, but names not in mind. Perhaps they do it for speed, perhaps for better access to hidden or system areas, perhaps for external partition searching, maybe other reasons. At Extensoft I put a post in asking their explanation, Anvir is a current install of one of their regular products (available as a special freebie), I have used their free product lightly in the past.
Note: Online Armor will show you what programs you have allowed, (accept/ask/block) however you have to look program by program, with a special mouse-click to the back screen, not on a graph like I think Zone Alarm and Kerio/Outpost and some others might have. With Online Armor, looking in history is another possibility with its own vicissitudes. Thus you can always find out what programs you have allowed, if you do allow .. and change the settings ... however it is a bit of work.
Now I realize that Wilder's folks will likely mostly say "no - don't allow". However I wonder if their could be a thread discussing why, when, who -- to handle this whole situation.
Here are additional questions to the ones above ? Do all the programs run ok if you say no ? Should you dump some of the programs if they can't handle it properly ?
As an aside, Anvir is particularly pushy. A global hook message came up, I actually got a BSOD about an invalid kernel something after the install and now it wants to do something with DNS. However I only mention that because it got me to thinking more. At the moment all is fine, I am hoping to use the program more .. possibly. That may be another thread.
Let's focus mostly on direct disk access on this one.
Oh, clearly super-security programs like UnhackMe might ask for such access, or Hex Editors, special boot utilities, this and that. So if you make a rule not to allow, where do you draw the lines ?
Shalom,
Steven Avery