ESET Blocks winini processes,, IE, Chrome and Programming Components

A while back I removed ESET (with a lot of difficulty because it plants a service that then has to be removed forcefully even after uninstall) from my machine because it was blocking winini processes,, IE, Chrome and Programming Components (which all have the same set of dependencies)..

I have confirmed that this is most definitely an ESET issue (I am now trying out Eset Smart Security 4.2.40.0) because the behavior has been repeated on 3 separate Windows XP machines..

Here is the process and exactly what happens...

Firefox, IE, Chrome and an application that I programmed myself (that uses WebBrowser control and some winini api calls) run perfectly fine on all my machines.

Then I install ESS and Firefox works alright,, but none of the other can access internet. I DO HAVE INTERNET access. I can use other software that needs internet access with no issues,,, only those that use a particular set of dependencies are blocked.

For each of the applications that are blocked (and it seems to boil down to what IE is using (InternetOpenUrl functions,, so on so on,,,) I opened and allowed every setting that is possible to access trough the interface. At one point I gave up. This is a problem that I have experienced with multiple versions of ESET software that never seems to get solved..

After giving up on trying to get the darn thing to work properly, I again decided to remove it from my system,, and lo ab behold,, THAT is the most ridiculous process ever..

The software uninstalls neatly.. (or so it seems) but it does not uninstall completely. I literally had to go to Safe Mode,,, and RIP the ESET service AND the ekrn.exe out of my system. (I am afraid to think what this does to people whio don't know how to do this)

Why is this extra important.. UNTIL I ripped out the planted service and the file that would not remove itself in un-installation NON of the winini dependent applications would go online. As soon as ESET services and ekrn were forcibly removed,, everything went back to normal.

Now,, I am sorry that I posted a lengthy post on this,, but i though it is best to be detailed and specific,, because most Q&As I see lead nowhere specific.

What can be done to get this stuff to work propperly..

(BY the way ,, yes I did clean, reset, reconfigure and do what not to winsock,,,)

 

AV programs usually always need seperate uninstallers to completely uninstall. the KB article below has a good sized list of common AV programs that require additional uninstalling steps....ESET isn't the only one.
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN146

To uninstall you can follow these instructions
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?pag...earch&viewlocale=en_US&searchid=1272609589509
or these
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?pag...earch&viewlocale=en_US&searchid=1272609589509
As far as your internet connectivity issues you can try the steps in the article below.
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?pag...earch&viewlocale=en_US&searchid=1272609589509

http://kb.eset.com <-- lots of good info there

 

Would it be possible to provide the application you've created to ESET so that we can try to replicate the problem here? Still, there's hardly a chance network issues would cause severe problems with uninstallation.

 

It doesn't cause general connectivity issues.

While I can't provide you with the application I developed because it is a commercial, in demand app,, I CAN provide you with a small sample of what the application is doing when it gets blocked. I am sure I can replicate the specific issues while using the minimal code that gets "stumped".

Let me know if you would be ok with that.

However,, I do know that if I managed to get IE operable the problem with my app would also be resolved.

I am ultimately looking to keep ESET because I find it very usable and a lot less intrusive then other software of such application,, for now however the issue is preventing me from working effectively.. so I am looking forward to finding a way around this.