VoodooShield/Cyberlock

Agreed. Postbox is quite well established now.

 

I'm really liking the look of this VS thing and what it does. I'm a big WSA fan and install it on friend's and family's computers.

It's nice to see that the two are said to compliment each other. I'm going to see how easy it is to use and then decide whether to just get the one license for me, or mabye more for those that can handle it.

I like sandboxie a lot but it's been playing up lately, or rather comodo defense+ is playing up, not letting it run. I've spent a couple of hours on it, but I just don't have the time to delve deeper right now. This looks like a good solution, not so much as a replacement for all that, but as a new approach. Looks like it won't be too difficult to learn and get up and running.

I've just built a brand new win7 x64 box, and I'm just debating how much internet access I want to allow it. My other machines have literally zero access to the net - the plug is totally pulled on those and will remain that way. I was thinking of cloning the OS for a dual boot -one with and one without access, but that isn't really practical anyway as I only have a 250GB SSD drive at the moment and my next SSD will be dedicated to Audio Samples like NI Komplete which is well over a 100GB.

In fact, setting the machine up this morning, I forgot that I had an ethernet cable plugged in and of course right after installing the asus mobo network drivers, I got the Trovi / Conduit / Search Protect Browser Hijack Malware, with a toll free no. to call in case of emergencies! It was rather nasty, and I'm glad that I actually made a clone with Terrabyte IFW and just made up a linux rescue disk with IFL and tested it. So I wasn't going to mess about with trying to remove it. I was thinking that this is exactly what this machine needs: Some kind of thing like VS, so far it seems to really fit the bill.

Don't ask me how I got that from installing official asus mobo software. But windows firewall was switched off and you actually had to go into services.msc to turn it on again at boot. It worked fine then. Of course Terrabyte restored perfectly in 5 minutes from the linux boot disk it made up. I didn't even connect to the net through a browser or anything, it just turned up about 5 minutes after restarting the machine when the new network drivers were put on. It was like the worst horror story you hear, in the sense of, you know, you only need to plug a cable in and in five minutes your machine will be riddled with malware. I had about 4 or 5 different types, all locking me out, opening windows, closing windows. A real mess. I have not been so bold as to plug the cable back in yet, but I probably will do a bit later as I have another few images made up so nothing can go wrong. It would also let me have a look at where maybe the nasty stuff came from, as I've only really installed a basic set and been setting other stuff up. There is no reason to connect it really.

I can easily make up a usb boot of linux mint or knoppix with my virtual machines and vpns on if I want.

The problem is that running AV and what not eats into a bit of juice. But that is why I like WSA - it uses hardly any system resources at all as far as I can tell - it's virtually invisible. But when you're doing high end audio, there's nothing worse for needing cpu cycles, apart from 3d rendering and video editing and all that. Funny thing is, most musicians I know, be they producers or engineers or writers, just use the microsoft stuff, don't like being told that windows defender and mse is not all that. In fact a lot of them get a bit hostile saying 'what do you want all that security for?' But the funniest part is that those that say that are running their machines in full on admin mode and connecting to the net. Now, an awful lot of them get away with it, the vast majority in fact. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that only 1 percent of people that operate a DAW do so in restricted user mode.

So anyway, something like this VS would be perfect for them. I think the main reason they get away with it is that they have one machine for porn and one machine for music. It's virtually impossible these days to have a DAW set up without connecting to the net. Well, yeah, it's totally possible - I'm doing it, but it is a major major pita. Challenge response protections, updates, validations, license managers...

I still don't know what to do regarding a firewall. I use comodo and know it fairly well and also the hips, but don't use the av. But knowing just how quick you can get infected is a real worry. I went and downloaded some very respectable backup software the other day from the very respectable official site. I got hit with a drive by, even with all my strength in depth. And people at wilders have called me paranoid and overdoing it - even the bloke from wsa himself. It took me eight hours to clean it off, thinking it would be quicker than restoring the previous night's backups. Wrong. Obviously not paranoid enough.

So, I think what I'm looking at is a machine that just does not physically connect to the net. BUT>>>> on those very rare occasions, for certain updates and validations and whatnot, I can set some kind of System Restore point (I actually always have system restore always turned off on windows), then do what I got to do - get in and get out - no messing about - if all is good, unplug the cable, make another backup and carry on. With the speed of SSDs these days there is no excuse really. My whole audio OS partition will fit easily on a 250GB drive even with provisioning taken into account.


So I'll definitely be getting WSA again after having such good results with it and with the rest of the people that have used it. And I'm looking to buy a few licenses as well because all our systems run out at the same time. I'm thinking this VS could be great, not just for musicians and producers and all those other 'creative' types that hate to get their hands dirty with anything technical, but also for the computer phobic people I know, or those with let's say 'learning difficulties', they get to use a computer too, and it's better they are protected as well, because a lot of them are sharing or using others computers. Plus, the price goes down the more you buy!

I'm gonna check it out the next few days, and even if I just end up getting the one copy myself, I may convince some other people to buy it over at the audio forums. Then again, they are a notoriously tight fisted bunch of misfits...

 

I got the MSVCR100.dll missing error as well, so I did as you suggested in an earlier post and uninstalled Microsoft Visual C++ Studio 2010 x64 (or x86) Runtime. Of course, when I went to reinstall VS, that suite was missing so I just plugged my ethernet cable in the back and prayed. It downloaded in a few seconds and a few restarts later, it was all set up and working. I'm really only playing about at the moment anyway. I have had a couple of very bad system hangs after booting earlier on, and I'm ready to go back to do it all from scratch. I think maybe all this asus monitoring/overclocking stuff may be causing problems (as it has done for others), and it's not necessary really.

As for VS, I can see that this is a keeper, for me at least, even if it would take a little time to learn and for it to learn the system.

I like how you can at least see the whitelist of what has been blocked, even if you can't change the other setting (in the free version). At least you can turn it off and on again quickly to use blocked programs like cmd.exe (say if you want to check your ipconfig). While this program obviously does a lot for free, someone like me would really need to buy the program first to see if it's really going to work for them long term. But the price is very fair so I have no complaints. I'll give it a few more days on the free just to see how it would work for other people that may be wouldn't want to pay for it, but really, off the cuff I would say that this program is already far too technical for them. Not a complaint of the program, it's a complaint of them really, but these people do exist, I guess they are just not your target audience.

Very elegantly done though I must say.

I'm actually thinking of doing a dual boot after all. I have a nice win7 pro internet set up on here now at just 25GB. You can buy a 120GB SSD for about 40 quid, so that leaves plenty of space. It saves messing about with booting into linux (though I'll do that at a later stage) for now, with a familiar system that shouldn't have any problems transferring files. I like how strict VS can be and how quickly you can switch it on and off.

I guess I might as well stick Comodo Firewall and Defense+ on here as well if I'll be using it for surfing. Everything else should be covered by WSA. It's all pretty isolated and 'sandboxed' as it is at the moment. Almost like a virtual machine if you considered it was all on its own dedicated SSD as well. I suppose I could be silly about it and run FireFox in sandboxie as well. But you know...

I like this program a lot. I think I'll have to buy it in the next few days/weeks. Even for a security noob like me it's easy enough to use and coherent enough to see its advantages as another line of defense. It feels nice not having to run in SUA and with all the clicking that entails, and just turning of UAC altogether. It's not like I will really be installing any programs on here anyway, and what with the speed of SSDs you are only 30 seconds away from being out of one OS and into another, to grab what you have to, and then get back to work. This really is a workstation for me, and having it connect to the net at all is a big step. I need to be confident in that judgement, and your software makes me feel a bit safer in doing so and knowing I am doing the right thing.

 

Hehehe, I was not aware of that, thank you for letting me know! I already added it today, but I can modify it once they finalize everything. Thank you!

 

Hey Krusty, I probably could add a count to the settings window, similar to the threats blocked count, is that what you had in mind? Thank you!

 

If we need to add more custom web apps, we can... how many more do you think we should add? I was kind of thinking that if someone was running that many web apps, then VS would be ON all of the time anyway. We are kind of running out of room on the screen, but we could probably fit a few more in without making major changes.

I am not sure what you mean by Setting to start in "Always-On" mode. If you put VS in Always-ON mode, when you close it and reopen it, or reboot your computer, it should start in Always-On mode. Please let me know what you mean!

Yeah, we will have to figure out how to make the command lines a little more user friendly, with whitelisting, logging and possibly backup to the cloud.

The blocked commandlines should be listed in the DeveloperLog... Actually in mine they are logged twice, so I will need to fix that small bug. Are they not showing up in your developerlog?

Do you have a couple of apps that can demonstrate the issues you are having with the commandlines so I can reproduce it on my end? That would help a lot!

Thank you!

 

Thank you! I added it today and I can change it once MS makes their changes.

 

Hey Brandonn, there are not any weak spots that I am aware of. I am hoping to find VS a "big brother" soon... like maybe an experienced team of security developers that can help me make it even more bulletproof... I will keep you guys posted . Thank you!

 

I saw that earlier today and added it along with Spartan and the Windows 10 mail app... thank you for the suggestion.

If anyone has any other suggestions on what other web apps we should add, please let me know!

 

Very cool, thank you! You were probably already aware of pretty much everything that I said, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to explain what VS is all about.

 

Hey Baldrick... I think that is right!!! Thank you, I have been trying to figure out who that was for a long time now. I will read all about him and his work when I get a chance!

 

Very cool, thank you! I am sure you know this already, but please keep in mind that Scan and Allow is not quite as safe as Smart Mode or Always ON. Scan and Allow should be pretty darn safe though because if the file is unknown, VS will prompt you.

BTW, has anyone thought of a better name for "Scan and Allow"? Scan and Allow will work, but I think we might be able to think of a better name that describes it a little better.

 

That's great, I am happy you like VS! If you want a free Pro license, just email me at support@voodooshield.com.

I am not sure why some computers have the MSVCR100.dll error... all of that is automated and I have little control over it.

You would be surprised how well total and complete computer novices understand and use VS... I seriously think ANYONE can use it. I have several local clients that literally do not know how to cut and paste, but they can easily use VS. Thank you!

 

Here is the latest version. I added some new web apps, fixed a lot of little issues and made some pretty cool refinements. The H1Z1 game error is not fixed yet, but I hope to figure that out soon. Also, I cannot reproduce the PagePlux X7 error, so David, if you can please tell me how to reproduce it, I will look at that too. It is running great on my 8.1 system.

http://www.voodooshield.com/freeoffer/Install VoodooShield.2.73b beta.exe

 

Cool, I added it too. Do you know have anymore web apps I should add? Thank you!

 

I can say I'm pleasingly surprised with VoodooShield after being so much time with Comodo Firewall, it's easy of use is refreshing. The problem is that I'm not used to not be in direct control on what happens in my comp , and not having access to the more advanced settings is for me like "Oh my..." .

 

Very cool, I am happy you like it! Please email me at support@voodooshield.com if you want a pro license. You can adjust the settings so you have a little more direct control, but it will not be quite like what you are used to. Thank you!

 

Hi Dan,

Yeah something just like that, but I'm not sure if anyone else thinks that's necessary or not. I'm easy either way.

V2.73b seems to be running just fine here.

Would Windows Media Player count as a Web Application?

 

Hi Dan,
VS 2.73b running smoothly here. No issues so far.

Thanks
Gordon

 

Ditto...here as always.

 

Sorry... I will confirm on my system. In that case, I wouldn't add too many more web apps... as every soft is really a web app.

Managing CLs will be a big help in administering VS in Always On mode... as it will block all the CLs involving Rundll32, Regsvr, etc. required for printers, updates, etc. So, future version with CL management will be a real plus.

I suppose in Always On mode you can allow only Windows Updates... and that is it.

Blocked CLs are not always present... e.g. PeaZip-cmd.exe block and taskhostex.exe.

I can send you DL if need be.

Best Regards,

HJLBX

 

I too, did some checking, and while Baldrick has supplied some part of the puzzle...I don't that is the right person attributed...I think two other people were involved. i.e. Alan Turing and Alonzo Church - "Church–Turing thesis" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church–Turing_thesis

Hope that helps.

 

OK. I obviously missed the thread that talked about "scan and allow". Can someone give me a quick break down of what it is? I'm sure it's a great option. I hadn't been keeping up with my beta apparently.

 

Cool. I didn't realise how easy this was to use til I gave it a go. So I take that back. However, the people I am talking about have severe physical and mental health difficulties. We are not talking about 'normal' people here. It's ok.

Please keep in mind that some people are literally retarded in some way. I work with them all the time. It's not insulting to them to acknowledge this, in fact, it is extremely insulting to them if you try to patronise them as being normal (not saying you did this).

Anyway, I'm recommending this around the place. I'm sure you will do very well with this new paradigm.

 

See Dan's post #7044.