SpywareBlaster latest update + WinMe

[Marianna]

I have SpywareBlaster plus SpybotS&D for many years without having ANY problems.

Now, after the latest update I am in "deep trouble" as BOTH programs don't work anymore.

I tried everything but SpywareBlaster keeps freezing. I uninstalled both programs, cleaned up everything I could find in the registry.

Today I downloaded only SpywareBlaster as I thought, I had a "clean slate"

Strange enough, it keeps "freezing" as the program tries to ENABLE Firefox..... I never had this problem before.

Is there a "change" or "whatever" in the latest SpywareBlaster update regarding Firefox ??

At the moment I have DISABLED ALL killbits. It seems to me, I am NOT alone with this problem as I found some more posters at the SpybotS&D forum with WinMe.

I would be very pleased with any "tips\tricks" to get SpywareBlaster running again

[Marianna]

Javacool,

update:

I clicked this time on "Internet Explorer" at the top and enabled the protection.

Had NO problem.


I then clicked on "Restricted Sites" at the top and again NO problems.

but..... as I clicked on Mozilla\Firefox again at the top - SpywareBlaster froze immediately .

Does this tell me, there IS a problem with Mozilla\Firefox enabling?

I have just tried it again - Mozilla\Firefox freezes again immediately.

Any idea??

[Marianna]

Update:

CalamityJane directed me yesterday to this post:

"Quote:

Hi,

This is caused by Spybot adding an inordinately large number of items to Firefox's hostperm.1 file.

The hang (which can take anywhere from a few seconds on up) will be fixed in the upcoming new version of SpywareBlaster (stay tuned!).

Best regards,

-Javacool

"Unquote"

Found here: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,19009046

[javacool]

Hi,

Yep - this problem is indeed caused by the latest version of Spybot (1.5) adding a large number of items to the Firefox hostperm.1 file.

It is already fixed for the upcoming new version of SpywareBlaster. Stay tuned!

Best regards and thanks,

-Javacool

[glnz]

Dear javacool: Thanks. I'm having exactly the same symptoms as Marianna. Also Win98SE and just updated Spybot to 1.5 (actually to 1.5.16). Will look forward to your fix. Please add a Reply here when it's ready. Many thanks!

[wolfie_the_real1]

Had similiar problems myself and personally think spybot's 1.5 is a waste of time , so i uninstalled the b..... thing and went to www.download.com (CNET ) and re-installed 1.4 as the updates are the same and the bugs where ironed out ages ago , 1.5 is a nightmare seems like a giant leap backwards lol .

[glnz]

Mr. wolfie_the_real1: On the Spybot forum, if you look for the links from the Spybot teams, you'll find their fix for the problems with Spybot 1.5.15. If you upgrade to their 1.5.16 (just two files - an .exe. and a .dll), the Spybot 1.5 problems go away. HOWEVER, that still leaves the new problem with SpywareBlaster, and I hope Mr. javacool posts a fix soon.

[tanstaafl]

Originally Posted by glnz

Mr. wolfie_the_real1: On the Spybot forum, if you look for the links from the Spybot teams, you'll find their fix for the problems with Spybot 1.5.15. If you upgrade to their 1.5.16 (just two files - an .exe. and a .dll), the Spybot 1.5 problems go away. HOWEVER, that still leaves the new problem with SpywareBlaster, and I hope Mr. javacool posts a fix soon.

I can confirm the beta fixes for Spybot 1.5 - I was ready to go back too, but the manual updates fixed me right up...

I found this thread searching for a resolution to the spywareblaster slowness loading the Firefox db - glad to hear it is fixed and a new release of spywareblaster is imminent... great work guys!

[ShebaBabie]

Has spywareblaster and or spybot S&D updated and fixed these bugs yet. ?? Is there a way to stay notified here or someplace to find out when??

Thanks

Sheba

[Marianna]

Javacool,

Only to let you know......the latest SpywareBlaster update from today, October 28, 2007 "blasted" my Internet access away on my WinMe Good, WinMe also has Restore Points... going back BEFORE the update did the "trick"

[ShebaBabie]

will this ever end?

If we restore marianna doesnt that get rid of the latest protection?

Also when IS spybot S&D AND spywareblaster going to fix these issues Anyone?? how do we stay informed is there a thread other thanthis one or somehow some way the very INSTANT these are out for download??

Thanks

Sheba

[Marianna]

Hi Sheba,

Yes, IF you restore to an earlier restore point, the latest SpywareBlaster update from today will be "gone".

I have been playing around a bit. You HAVE to disable Mozilla\Firefox in SpywareBlaster and ONLY then you will have NO problems updating. IE and restricted are fine then and SpywareBlaster responds without "getting stuck"

I removed SpybotS&D from my WinMe as I got "frustrated"

[javacool]

Originally Posted by Marianna

Javacool,

Only to let you know......the latest SpywareBlaster update from today, October 28, 2007 "blasted" my Internet access away on my WinMe Good, WinMe also has Restore Points... going back BEFORE the update did the "trick"

Hi,

I'm afraid that I can't duplicate this here on any version of Windows, including Windows ME. (i.e. Everything's fine on all of the test machines.)

Does any sort of error message appear? Could you take a screenshot of the symptoms (or describe them in more detail please)?

In addition, could you try updating SpywareBlaster again and see if the issue occurs? (If it does, does disabling all protection resolve the issue?)

Best regards and thanks,

-Javacool

[Marianna]

Hi Javacool,

As I first updated, I had Mozilla\Firefox still enabled. The update ran almost till the "end" as the program got stuck (not responding) used ctrl-alt-del. Then I opened SpywareBlaster again and the update continued. So, I "thought" everything is "fine....... I then tried to go into the internet with Firefox, nothing happened as I was "timed out". I then tried IE - same thing.

It could ONLY have been the latest SpwareBlaster - so, I restored. Everything was FINE again. Made a new restore point, disabled Mozilla\Firefox , updated again and NO problems. The "devil" is in Mozilla\Firefox, so I keep these disabled for now.

Hope this helps

[ZMK]

Hi Javacool,

I can consistently reproduce this problem both on Windows ME and Windows 2000. The problem occurs when you use the Immunize facility in Spybot in conjunction with SpywareBlaster. Spybot can immunize Firefox against Cookies, Images, Installations and Popups. It has 152 items for Cookies and 7441 each for the remaining three. Enabling Cookie protection doesn't slow down SpywareBlaster, but enabling any of the other three does, and enabling all three (which is the default) really slows down SpywareBlaster causing to appear frozen, but after 2 minutes it cames back.

My work around is the same as Marianna's, i.e. disable Firefox protection in SpywareBlaster.

Regards,

[javacool]

Originally Posted by ZMK

Hi Javacool,

I can consistently reproduce this problem both on Windows ME and Windows 2000. The problem occurs when you use the Immunize facility in Spybot in conjunction with SpywareBlaster. Spybot can immunize Firefox against Cookies, Images, Installations and Popups. It has 152 items for Cookies and 7441 each for the remaining three. Enabling Cookie protection doesn't slow down SpywareBlaster, but enabling any of the other three does, and enabling all three (which is the default) really slows down SpywareBlaster causing to appear frozen, but after 2 minutes it cames back.

My work around is the same as Marianna's, i.e. disable Firefox protection in SpywareBlaster.

Regards,

Hi,

Thanks for the information.

This issue is fixed for the next version of SpywareBlaster, which is actively being worked on. We hope to have it available soon.

Best regards and thanks,

-Javacool

[Doctor_Who]

OK, I've disabled FF protection to get Spyware Blaster to load in minimal time so I can check for updates and move on to other work.

However, I'm still having another problem that I've written about before but never did get an answer.

When I open Spyware Blaster, I get a window opening from MS Office wanting to install some file or another. What on earth does Office have to do with Spyware Blaster?

I've seen this on other peoples PC's too, so I know it's not just me.

Any insight into this problem would be greatly appreciated.

The Doctor

[Bubba]

Originally Posted by Doctor_Who

When I open Spyware Blaster, I get a window opening from MS Office wanting to install some file or another. What on earth does Office have to do with Spyware Blaster?

The short answer is, give MS Office what it wants and then the next time that user logs on and runs Spywareblaster there should be no hicups.

The longer answer, given that MS and SB both use Mscomctl.ocx, is contained in this post starting at **As a side note. The Windows Installer link contained in that post gave me a better understanding of how this might be happening, if you are interested in reading it.

Bubba

[javacool]

Originally Posted by Doctor_Who

OK, I've disabled FF protection to get Spyware Blaster to load in minimal time so I can check for updates and move on to other work.

However, I'm still having another problem that I've written about before but never did get an answer.

When I open Spyware Blaster, I get a window opening from MS Office wanting to install some file or another. What on earth does Office have to do with Spyware Blaster?

I've seen this on other peoples PC's too, so I know it's not just me.

Any insight into this problem would be greatly appreciated.

The Doctor

Hi,

The problem with Windows Installer (whether for Microsoft Office or another program) appearing when SpywareBlaster starts has been fixed for the upcoming SpywareBlaster release (at least, for all the scenarios in which I can reproduce it). It is actually caused by overzealous / corrupt Windows Installer setups, but I've managed to track down the root cause and fix it.

Best regards,

-Javacool