I'm running Windows XP Home Edition. XP has a feature called 'Data Execution Prevention' or DEP. I didn't know XP had such a feature until I downloaded and tried to run one of the DCS Freeware programs, cmdline.exe. DEP stopped cmdline.exe from running. OK, so I crossed my fingers and turned DEP off for cmdline.exe Yesterday, I tried to run another DCS Freeware program, asviewer.exe. Same thing. DEP stopped it from running. This time I didn't turn DEP off because now I'm starting to get worried. Can anybody please tell me why DEP is stopping DCS programs from running? I've downloaded and used a LOT of freeware and I've never had DEP stop anything from running until now.
There's a lot of stuff on DEP in the Help & Support files, but here's the first couple of paragraphs. Data Execution Prevention (DEP) helps prevent damage from viruses and other security threats that attack by running (executing) malicious code from memory locations that only Windows and other programs should use. This type of threat causes damage by taking over one or more memory locations in use by a program. Then it spreads and harms other programs, files, and even your e-mail contacts. Unlike a firewall or antivirus program, DEP does not help prevent harmful programs from being installed on your computer. Instead, it monitors your programs to determine if they use system memory safely. To do this, DEP software works alone or with compatible microprocessors to mark some memory locations as "non-executable". If a program tries to run code-malicious or not-from a protected location, DEP closes the program and notifies you.
RE: asviewer.exe I dropped asviewer.exe on Radsoft's Peeper program to check it out. Peeper is a program that, like Radsoft's BlobView, checks for bloat and other stuff that I don't understand, since I'm not a programmer. You drag and drop exe files onto these programs and they give you the goodies. So anyway, under Peeper's PE section, asviewer.exe's 'Uninitialized data' is reported to be 384. In Peeper's Help file, it says "the size of uninitialized data with 'good' executables should be 0". Well, maybe this doesn't mean much. DCS programs seem to be pretty small so I wouldn't categorize them as bloatware, but FWIW there's one of the goodies. 384 (bytes?) of uninitialized data. Can anybody jam to this DEP blues tune?
Another DEP tidbit from the Help file: If you are using the recommended security settings and your antivirus software did not detect a threat, (it didn't) your computer is probably not under attack. In this case, the program that DEP closed might not run correctly when DEP is turned on. (sure enough) To see if a DEP-compatible version of the program is available, visit the software publisher's Web site. DEP-compatible? Well there's the challenge of the day I s'pose, in addition to the challenge of jamming to an unknown blues tune.
OK, but that doesn't really answer my questions. Sure, I can turn DEP off but why is it just flagging these programs and nothing else? I guess I'll leave DEP on for now. No talent for jamming, eh? I mean, plucking a couple strings at random would be better than nothing.
Hey, don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. It's freeware after all. And I admit I don't understand the whole DEP thing. But a suggestion to turn off DEP if I don't want the protection it affords is really a non-answer, dontcha think? What I'd like to find out, IF anybody knows, is why DCS freeware apps are being stopped by DEP. Simple, one would think at first glance.
Maybe that's because you have DEP turned off or maybe you have it turned on for essential Windows programs & services only? I don't know. This computer was custom-built less than 6 months ago so I'm guessing it's possible. How would I find out? When I got the computer, DEP was Turned on for all programs and services except those I select. In Help and Support, it says that's not the default setting, but that's how it was set up when I got the computer. I haven't changed it. I guess nobody wants to tell me why DCS software is the only software I've had this happen to, right? I guess I'll just have to assume at this point that DCS software is trying to "run code—malicious or not—from a protected location", like it says in Help & Support. And I'm not really sure if that's good, bad, or ugly. (or none of the above) I've got a Radsoft process and module viewer called 'x-perf' (3584 bytes) that digs down real deep and shows you every module and driver under the sun that running programs are depending on and x-perf (or NO other program I've run so far on this computer) was ever stopped by DEP. This just seems kinda strange to me.
that could possibly be it. so why not just change it to the default "Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs & services only" i the DEP control panel, under teh exclusion list, there should be some text with some info about whether u have hardware-DEP or software-DEP. it doesnt matter much, i think its just the setting ur using. hopefully someone from DiamondCS can answer your question tho. it would be interesting to know what diamondcs freeware is doing to trigger the DEP.
On my exclusion list, there's no info there about hardware or software DEP. I think you're probably right. My exact thoughts. I might be willing to turn off DEP for their software if I could get some answers. Thanks for your input.