What is AppGuard

Thanks for the update info and as always Appguard is running smooth. I also like the changes in the GUI.

 

This is a welcome addition, but IMHO doesn't go far enough. Exceptions should be able to be specified for each guarded application individually. For example, one might want to create an exception to enable only Outlook to be able to access the email folder, without allowing other guarded applications the same access.

Sandboxie, for example, enables permissions to be configured for sandboxed applications individually, which allows a level of granular control not present in AppGuard. One of the strong points of AppGuard is the potential it offers for locking down access to sensitive data, but the current implementation lacks flexibility.

 

I may have missed it somewhere, but is the paid license for one year with updates or life of the product (version 1.3+)?

 

With the release of 1.3, a single AppGuard license (retroactively) includes the following:
- Up to 3 concurrent installations/computers
- Lifetime license to use AppGuard
- Lifetime of free software updates
- Lifetime of Internet based technical support

The 'retroactively' point, to be clear, means this change in licensing policy applies to those who already had a valid AppGuard license prior to the release of version 1.3.

Cheers,

Eirik

 

BTW, we were named a Finalist in GSN's [(US) Government Security News] 2009 Homeland Security Awards – List of Finalists, for the category "Best Anti-Malware Product or Service".

If you have any questions about this, who else was considered, evaluation criteria, etc., I'm afraid I have no information above and beyond the announcement.

Cheers,

Eirik

 

thanks for this value info

 

I uninstalled the new version. Its flash drive / external drive protection would stop functioning shortly after it loaded at boot. I used the installer to repair it several times, but it continued to stop functioning. I also had a problem with deactivating it's protection. I would choose deactivate all protection, and it would continue to protect even though the tray icon clearly showed it was deactivated. I would always have to reactivate the protection, and then deactivate it one more time before its protection would deactivate. On a good note i had no stability issues. My system continued to run smoothly. Has anyone else experianced the above 2 problems? The machine i installed it on is running XP Pro service pack 3. I use Online armor, Avira 9 anti-virus, and Prevx.

 

I had similar situation. It turned out being my hips hadn't fully learned the process of the activation/deactivation.

 

I thought that could be the problem. It shouldn't be though because i choose to trust everything in the installation folder of Appguard. That doesn't mean its not the problem though. I didn't have this same issue with the earlier version though. Maybe its blocking something in the system 32 folder. I checked online armor's log, and it said nothing was being blocked. I'm going to put Appguard on one of my other computers instead because this one is running smother than any computer i've ever used. My current layered security setup on this machine is sweet! I believe Appgaurd is on the best anti-malware products out there so they most definitely are keeping my business.

 

Yea, RTD showed nothing as being blocked for me as well. My thoughts were it had to be RTD, so I decided to enable learning mode once for the suspension/re-enabling of protections which worked.

 

hi Erik my AppGuard isue is now fix it is back on board

 

Correction, I was wrong. I have a clean snapshot loaded with no security app other than AppGuard and still had the problem quoted by Cutting_Edgetech. Also for me, AppGuard renders IE8 InPrivateFiltering for ad blocking useless with no functionality and no importing of filters.

 

and what has happened to this product and 64 bit.

 

Hi All,

I hope all is well with you.

Of late, customers have more flexibility in customizing their protection. They can add MBRguard for more protection.

AppGuard will not support 64 bit Windows in 2009. We appreciate the interest in 64 bit support. We're assessing the timing and feature set for 64 bit Windows 7 (64 bit Windows XP and 64 bit Vista will NOT be a priority) support. At present, I don't have a more definitive answer to provide on this question. I wish I did.

Cheers,

Eirik

 

Hi Erik, two days ago I have the following problem: when I click on suspend all protections, I get a popup window with an error, and appguard crash. This is the log:

Application popup: AppGuardAgent.exe - Application Error: The instruction at "0x00408906" referenced memory at "0x00000008". The memory could not be "read".

Click OK to terminate the program
Click CANCEL to debug the program

I can suspend USB or Drive-by protections, but not all together without Appguard crash.

I´ve reinstalled appguard, but the error persists. I dont know what happened, I did nothing wrong.

I´ve deactivated Windows DEP for Appguard Agente Service, without success.


If I check these options, there isn´t a crash, so I think my problem is related with privacy protection.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Tp1023M7c-E/Sv_05SHPbdI/AAAAAAAAAF0/lFRGxtNX490/s512/1.JPG

Programs with privacy protection: regedit, internet explorer, thunderbird, outlook express, tftp.

Greetings

 

I have been looking for the ideal software to complement my ESS and to bolster my protection.
I was on 64 bit, and have now gone back to 32 bit windows 7 due to some things not working and have put on appguard again as I have a licence for it.
I have forgotten what a delight it is to run, easy and unobtrusive. Good for usb protection too.
Running fine here.

 

Hi Eirik,

I've now purchased a license for AppGuard 1.3.3 and all is running well except for a few minor issues: -

1. AppGuard is incredibly slow to start up and is adding around 30 seconds to the boot time on my XP Pro system. When it is up and running though there is no noticeable drag on system performance. Is the startup time a known issue, and is it something the developers will be looking to improve on in a future release?

2. Disabling/enabling of Drive-By Download protection on non-system volumes doesn't work if the "Deny all launches from all non-system volumes" checkbox in the "Drive-By Download Protection Extensions" Settings tab is ticked. The solution is to ignore the checkbox and manually add non-system drives to the "UnGuarded applications may not launch from these folders ..." Deny tab.

3. When customising AppGuard settings to add new guarded applications or folders, the changes don't take immediate effect. The solution is to exit and restart the GUI but, given the length of time the GUI is taking to load, this is a tad inconvenient. It's not a big problem though because disabling/enabling of AppGuard Protection for Guarded Apps, Privacy Mode, USB Launches, and Drive-by Downloads all take immediate effect and, once the initial setup has been done, further customisation to add new guarded applications and folders is infrequent.

4. In the "About AppGuard" dialog box, if "License..." is selected, the license details take a long time to appear. If the Cancel button is then pressed without entering a license, the "About AppGuard" dialog box becomes unresponsive for a long time before it can be exited.

5. The help pages appear to refer to an earlier version 1.2.0 and have not been updated for the changes in the latest version.

Regards

 

Hi Eirik,

Many thanks for the private message; that was an incredibly speedy response. I wanted to reply publicly in order to let other people see just how good your customer support is.

I've followed the instructions and sent the troubleshooting logs, as you requested.

Just to clarify point number #2 in my post, when I said the checkbox is ticked, I meant filled in (i.e. checked). When the checkbox is filled in, drive-by download protection is enabled for non-system volumes, but it can't be suspended. What adding the drive letters manually to the Deny tab accomplishes, is that AppGuard then works correctly, enabling drive-by download protection to be alternately suspended and re-enabled via the GUI.

My reason for posting was not to complain, but rather to feed back observations in order to help improve the program. The only real inconvenience is the very slow boot time. My system normally boots in around 30 seconds and, following the installation of AppGuard, this has now increased to around 60 seconds. I'm also running PC Tools Firewall Plus 5, Avira AntiVir 9 Premium, and Prevx 3.0 with SafeOnline (paid) in real-time. I also use Sandboxie on demand. I will try uninstalling all of these to see if there is some kind of conflict with AppGuard at start up and report back.

All in all, I think that AppGuard is a great application. Very light once it is loaded (it consumes a modest amount of memory and uses virtually no CPU except when loading) and the feature set is about right - plenty of flexibility for customisation, but implemented in a way that doesn't compromise the simplicity of the basic approach. Congratulations to all at Blue Ridge and I look forwards to seeing how AppGuard continues to develop in future releases.

BTW, when I purchased the license, the conditions of the license were not explicitly stated. I assume that the license is for a single PC but would you please confirm whether is it an annual subscription or a lifetime license. If the latter, does that include future software updates or does the program have to be re-purchased each time a new version is released?

Regards

 

Thanks for the Kudos, I'll pass them along.

With version 1.3, we announced new licensing terms per a single purchased license, which includes
- three concurrent installations on different machines
- software updates for life
- online tech support for life
- unlimited favorable but honest user reviews at download portals

Cheers,

Eirik

 

Thanks for clarifying that, Eirik.

Regards

 

Hi Eirik,

I tried uninstalling all of the other security applications, but it didn't make any difference to the slow boot time. AppGuard is still taking around 30 seconds to load. Hopefully the troubleshooting logs will help to identify the cause.

Regards

 

One change I would like to see is for the Guarded Applications Exception Folders Settings dialog to be amended to include both Deny and Allow tabs, similar to the way Drive-by Download Protection Settings works in AppGuard 1.3.3.

The rationale behind this is to better support machines such as mine that have a factory supplied recovery partition. Currently AppGuard treats all non-system volumes as Extended User Space, thereby allowing Guarded Applications write access. In the case of a recovery partition, it would seem more appropriate to regard it as an extended system partition and deny guarded applications the ability to modify it.

The addition of a Deny tab to the Guarded Application Exception Folders Settings dialog would enable this to be easily accomplished in a way that would be consistent with the current approach without complicating the user interface. The recovery partition would be added to the Deny tab as a folder exclusion, preventing Guarded Applications from modifying it.

I wonder if Eirik could take this suggestion up with the developers for consideration in a future AppGuard release.

 

With Appguard installed, I also have 45 - 50 seconds additional log on time to my account. I've also uninstalled my security program to see if it helps, but to no avail.
Allen

 

Thanks for reporting this, Allen; I thought it wouldn't be just me experiencing this problem. The more users who report this, the more chance there is that the AppGuard developers will take it seriously, and try to find the cause of this issue and eliminate it in a future release.

Eirik, a few days ago when we were corresponding privately, I sent you a reply suggesting that there appears to be a timing issue in the interaction between the AppGuard service and the AppGuard GUI that could be contributing to the slow start-up problem. Did you get a chance to pursue this with the developers?

 

Hi All,

I've forwarded these observations regarding prolonged boot times to engineering for them to investigate. I cannot promise they'll get this into the lab this week but its probable. I'll post their findings here when I get their feedback.

Cheers,

Eirik