Annoying "feature" of Online Armor

I'm not sure if this occurs only in the free version, but when the firewall prompts to allow a program access, ALL network traffic is blocked after a few seconds. I had a bunch of downloads going last night in Flashget and soon after I went to bed, there was an access popup for an updated Avira update module. Since I wasn't there to allow it, all traffic was blocked and when I woke up the next morning, I realized that none of my downloads had completed!


Edit: Just checked again and it starts blocking all traffic after ~15 seconds.

 

I am using OA Premium with Avira PSS(without the firewall). I place Avira folders in OA Exclusions list and "trust" Avira. But I see also what you experience in Outpost Pro especially when an important update is included/downloaded. Both firewall does that eventhough I have placed them in exclusions/trust. My experience may vary from yours but you can ask for more help here and at the OA forums.

Goodluck.

 

Possibly because that's the only way to stop the download causing the prompt.

I had the same thing happen once, a long time ago, and since then I have everything set for manual updates rather than auto.

I do understand the mutual trust part, if both trust each other there should be no issue to prompt... I'm not trying to explain why that doesn't work.

I chose the manual update as a solid way to avoid the issue, since there are so many apps now that have auto-updates. I just don't want to add every one to the exclusions list. And I haven't had that problem since then.

 

Known issue, planned to be fixed with OA 5.1.
But it will take some time until it arrives, first there will be 5.0.1.

 

My issues in a week of testing of OA

Incompatibilities with:
Panda Coud Beta (reported)
Shadow User (blue screens) (dump files automatically sent)
Sandboxie with Chrome (no internet) (old bug reported in March)
Spyshelter (some modules didn't work)

I also experienced the same issue with the downloads and the firewall but I didn't think about OA, seems to me a quite important a probably old but to be still present.

Since I have never had so many incompatibilities while testing other beta software i had uninstalled OA

 

I'm certainly not surprised by its not playing nicely with SpyShelter. There's a lot of overlap and potential conflict there.
I've never had a problem with OA and Sandboxie but I don't use Chrome...so can't speak to that issue.

I think OA is a great program and I regret no longer being able to use it without experiencing intermittent (and too frequent for my taste) high CPU usage by oasrv.exe
Not sure what causes it to happen after a few months of relatively quiet operation but happen it does.

It's the only "major" annoyance I have ever experienced with OA (having used both free and paid versions) over the course of several years.

 

I can expect some problems but I didn't have this issue playing with other hips like Private firewall, CIS d+, outpost or Online Solutions Security Suite.

 

Maybe no conflicts were obvious or apparent superficially but I wonder how effective the protection was while they were installed at the same time.

For example, when I had PrivateFirewall and Zemana both installed simultaneously, (even with only one HIPS module active), Zemana failed its own keylogger tests. And yet there was absolutely no indication (without the tests) of them not getting along nicely side by side.

As always YMMV, but for me...I've learned a valuable lesson and avoid unnecessary duplication where I can (and test when in doubt).

 

Private firewall and Zemana is not an unnecessary duplication in some cases (banking malware), although the overlap is important. I remember that I had the same problem with Zemana but I don't remember if it was with CIS or OA.
The best companion for a FW+HIPS type software is prevx safe online or truster rapport, both free.

I test the software and their compatibilities to find those bugs, since I'm always beta testing some software I'm just saying that I have never experienced so many problems not specifically related with the beta that now with OA.

 

Unless you use and rely upon Sandboxie for your (secure) browsing sessions.

(I'll quit now. I don't want to take this thread too far off its intended course and you're gonna get the last word in anyhow. )

 

I'm just curious, what are your core apps that you won't do without?

I can certainly see Shadow User as one. Although there won't be many home users with that. I use Shadow Protect myself and wouldn't do without it and have no problems with OA.

Sandboxie is essential for some more knowledgeable users and I wonder if you feel Chrome is also essential, since FF seems to work (connect to internet).

SpyShelter is a separate program, again likely outside the mainstream of home users, that may be better than the KeyLogger protection of OA, but is it essential? Perhaps for rootkit detection? You didn't say which modules were incompatible.

Ranging from having zero protection (software/hardware) to installing every piece of security software... what would you recommend as the sensible set of apps for the masses (of home users) to use?

 

Sandboxie, and since I use firefox for normal browsing, I use Chrome for banking.

Spyshelter, the antinetworkspy module. Overlaps a lot my config but I like to test it.

Those 2 are fixed in my pc.

If you are asking me what would I recommend for a normal user.
CIS (no AV) (D+ HIPS, Firewall, Sandbox, cloudAV and Cloud behavior blocker) (if the user is very novice with pc's I would just install the Comodo firewall or any other firewall)
Avast Free
Prevx Safe online Free or trusteer rapport.
Secunia PSI maybe, I use it but only on-demand

Just this, all free.
If you want to pay for some reason probably Norton internet security is the best choice bur IMO the free config up is stronger.
You may also want to take a look to my signature there are some useful addons for firefox.

 

OK, thanks.

 

I was betatesting the latest beta the last 4, 5 days but all this issues are present in the actual stable version which I was testing before during weeks , I'm just posting my personal experience with OA not bugs related with the beta.
The only bug discovered while I was beta testing is the panda cloud bug, all the others I had them using the stable version but I reported all of them.

Anyway if you think that is wrong, or somebody request delete them, do it, and sorry.

 

Incompatibility?
I don't see any, just some pop ups if installer mode is used.
If pop ups don't stop, learning mode can be used. Such a big issue?

It would have been better if you had created a ticket like you've been advised many times.

Using OA's exception list is a good workaround since only minimum of protection gets "lost" because Sandboxie isolates the excluded process.

As already stated in this thread, incompatibilites between HIPSes and other behavior blockers etc. are to be expected.

 

Internet connection lost and non bootable system, yes is a big issue, I just reported the popups part because "probably" the connection lost is problem of panda cloud but still is an incompatibility. Anyway I just installed today panda cloud beta without OA and worked well.
You can check the panda cloud beta forums where I have reported it, is an open forum
http://www.cloudantivirus.com/forum/thread.jspa?threadID=59617&start=0&tstart=0 page 2 (last message) until 4

They have the dump files, if they really care there is no need to send ticket, they can create it.
I have been advised many times? jajaja just 1 and just because I asked in the forum if somebody was experiencing the same problem (a problem not related with the beta) with the installer mode, I just wanted to be sure before send a bug ticket. I don't want to make the devs lose their time.

Anyway now is done, I reported it with a ticked yesterday and nobody told me how to avoid it. By the way you reported the same bug 3 months ago... and still is not fixed but probably they are not willing to do it, using the excuse of the incompatibility.

Spyshelter is not a behavior blocker either OA.
I didn't say you can not expect an incompatibility but I had 4, and 3 of them were not from software similar to OA. And if all the other similar products can work well why Online armor not? The excuse in order to not to fix a bug is tell that those programs does not work well together?

Anyway I just don't want to uninstall 2 programs from my computer because OA is incompatible with them while I can use any other software similar to OA that works fine, without any incompatibility.

 

Where did you write this?
At the Panda Forums? Sorry, but we can't read your thoughts...
I read again your topic at the OA beta forum and couldn't find anything about internet connection problems with OA + Panda Cloud.

Your problem is that you don't stick to rules. The rules advise you to send in a bugreport. This makes it much easier for the devs.
The rules e.g. say:

You make them lose time if you don't send in tickets. That's why the rules say the above...

It was good that you reported it although it was a duplicate.
If you had asked in the forums (or even better: used the search function) somebody would have told you the workaround.

Not true. I asked the devs several times about the issue and it got high priority and they even contacted tzuk. After some time it was however clear that the bug isn't easy to fix. And this is not the end of the world since there's a decent workaround.
That happened only a few times so far, so I think it's quite true what developers say.

Of course Spyshelter has behavior blocker capabilities, e.g. it detects keyloggers. And I assume it detects them in a similar way like OA, by hooking system functions.
This can always lead to incompatibilities.

 

Because it's panda cloud beta, probably OA does not want to check an incompatibility until the final version is release and probably is a problem of PCAV not OA.
Since I wasn't still sure about which software had the problem I was waiting from the confirmation from Panda forums to send the ticket or not. But probably wouldn't understand it.

Since yesterday using the stable version to check, I didn't had time to do anything in the computer because of the blue screen at the start I just sent the dump files, I requested to be removed from the beta tester group and I uninstalled OA, since I'm not a betatester I don't need to follow the rules.

Of course I can send tickets about bug in winamp according to you
Sorry but is better to be sure and send the required information than send an bad documented bug. If you send bugs for any issue not related with OA or when you are not sure if is a bug or not, is not my problem.

I hardly doubt that I can find anything in emsisoft forums abour OA since they have been wipe out, I see now that this appears in the old and closed online armor forums dated in 2010 and still not fixed.

Of course you don't have any idea about what is a behavior blocker.
Use google and learn the difference between a behavior blocker and an HIPS.
And as I said I don't care, I'm free to do whatever I want in my computer, I didn't sing a contract.
If OA does not work with spyshelter can I decide to uninstall OA or are you going to call the cops?

Jajajaja
I request this morning to be removed, and I'm not anymore a beta tester member.
I would like to remember you that everything that I said out of the beta forum is no related with the beta. So I can give my opinion with freedom. I don't need to hide the truth.

Could you tell me any false fact please? I can't understand how you represents something in Emsisoft. Do you have any proof? or your are angry because you can not delete my post in this forum?

If you don't know how to understand a feedback or an opinion is not my problem but this is a free forum.
And I would like to remember that I have nothing against OA, if tell my user experience damage the image of OA this forums are plenty of them, not only for OA, for any security software, what you have to do is learn.

 

@l0rdraiden: You took the right decision to quit the testers team.

I wonder which company forum you will haunt next...

 

I'm a beta tester of OA, and they are already aware of this issue. I will check with Emsisoft staff to see what i'm aloud to say about it. I will make sure they are aware of this thread. They may want to address the issue directly.

 

The only haunt is in you imagination. I started to test a product as a volunteer and then I quit because I found incompatibilities with other products that I use all the time, that's all.
I just put together 4 incompatibilities/bugs that I found in the stable version, that is not illegal or even immoral, and any support forum is plenty of similar posts.

The only haunt is yours trying to hide them, attacking me, while some of them are public.

I think you are getting paranoid and obsessive, try to relax.

 

Is there a user here from the Online Armor dev team? We have detected an issue with OA's "Program Guard" which blocks the installation of Panda Cloud Antivirus under 64bit systems.