Does PG make it a pain to install new programs?

I am very seriously considering PG but one concern I have about it is how it will effect my everyday computing. It is always going to be alerting me of things and asking me if I want to allow things that are not dangerous? When I go to install and new program will I need to disable PG so it will not prevent a program from installing drivers (or other things that it needs to)? Or when installing a program will PG simply ask me if I want to allowing drivers to install? I am just wondering if PG will be constantly bugging me about things or if once setup it will just do its job only alerting me when something of potential danger comes up. Thanks.

 

A decent question. I was considering the purchase also. I think you put PG in "learning mode" during new yet expected situations. I don't own the product but have been considering it for some time. I'd like to hear pros and cons from experienced wilders members.

 

It's very easy to put PG into learning mode and install a new program.
When you first install PG you leave in in learning mode and run your most used programs.
Reboot and after all your programs have started you switch to normal mode.
Even after that if something you forgot to add tries to start, you will get an alert
and you can allow or deny.

I've been using PG for about a month now and I'm very happy with it.
It's a must have program IMHO.

Dan

 

I've used it for some time now, and would recommend disabling PG before installation of trusted updates/programs.

From PG's Help File:
What should you do when installing new programs?

When installing new trusted programs or updating existing trusted programs you should enable Learning Mode. Learning Mode means less hassle for you and an easier setup of whatever access the new program requires. After installation of the new program do a reboot with Learning Mode still on, once your system has finished loading after the reboot, turn Learning Mode off.

To enable Learning Mode simply go to the main section on the interface and make sure Learning Mode is ticked. In the screenshot below it is not ticked, so you would make sure it is ticked before installing something.

When installing service packs or operating system patches you should disable ProcessGuard's protection. The reason you should do this is ProcessGuard locks some files on the system and also places restrictions on what applications can do. This might block some of the updates/installation from doing what they need to do and lead to problems.

To disable ProcessGuard simply go to the main section on the interface and make sure Protection Enabled is not ticked. In the screenshot below it is ticked, so you would remove the tick from it to disable ProcessGuard's protection.

PS: No you do not get constantly nagged with popups.

 

I agree with Peter2150...."piece of cake"...once you get over the initial nervous period on the first use of PG. Plus it's a great teaching tool in your spare time as to what programs get activated in your system when you do certain things- that is if you are into that type of "larnin'".

I get two ProcessGuard popups a day from running Symantec's Intelligent Updater from Symantec. These popups are because the Symantec download changes name every day so there is no way for ProcessGuard to be told to remember this particular activity. Automatic updates come in silent and sweet. And my system runs 24/7 with cable modem.

Other than that, I just disable PG plus my antivirus program when I get ready to install a program update or Microsoft update and then turn both back on when the update is completed. For a new program installation, I do much like Peter2150 described. Plus ProcessGuard changes the color of the systray icon from Blue to Green when PG is in Learning Mode...so it helps remind the user to go out of Learning Mode.

ProcessGuard is one of the absolute best security investments you can make for your computer. That is not saying that you do not need a good anti virus program, a good software firewall, a couple of good anti spyware programs plus freebies such as IE SpyAd and SpywareBlaster, a good anti trojan program, and good old common sense concerning emails and using the Internet.

Couple ProcessGuard with the newly released RegDefend and you are really locking down your system from those criminals that want to get to know you.

 

Thanks, it sounds like it is pretty easy to use and learning mode makes it easy to install new programs. And once it is configured it seems that it will leave you alone unless there is a good reason. It is only a matter of time now before I buy this program.

 

Yes, it is very easy to use, and there aren't many popups, most of the time it remains silent

Cheers

 

It's taking some time, but I'm becoming more accustomed to only disabling specific, expected, global options.. like disabling protection against driver installs when updating my system drivers. For common apps that don't change the sytem at all (like email, browser, etc), it should not be necessary to disable PG at all. One of the advantages to this is that if an installer tries to run another installer, for example some bundled spyware, it will alert you to this.

A couple weeks ago I installed a demo that contained bundled adware. PG alerted me to the the adware installer wanting to run. Because I was alerted to this adware before hand, and wanted to take a look, I let it run... at which point I was asked to allow/deny the trojan dropper that it put in the Windows system directory and tried to run. Of course I denied that part

Security software, SysInternals' tools, and AOL may want to install drivers, but I don't think there's much that's going to set off the other global protection settings. If PG botches an install, you can always uninstall & reinstall with the appropriate settings disabled. It may take some getting used to, but PG can provide some very strong, and wide ranging, protection if used properly. Locking PG with a password helps. Until you get used to it, however, you can disable PG during installs. Just remember that trojans masquerade as useful programs, and only install downloads from major trusted sources (family doesn't count )