JorgeA
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Posts posted by JorgeA
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12 hours ago, heinoganda said:
Why the Windows Defender definition updater when you can not start I can not reconstruct at the moment, ultimately, does this nothing more than before the actual update of the definition, delete the contents of the backup directory.
Note:
Why I suggested Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, the fact is indicative of this still so many problematic software respectively can delete them also reasonable (especially associated various registry entries). It is in this sense not a virus scanner, but a supplement specifically aimed at damaging programs and various promotional tools. A search with this program is at least an additional reinsurance, not the virus scanner is ever compromised.
For Avast Free I can say that this is a good virus scanner, but various modules make more corrupt than they protect. The modules such as file system protection, mail protection, web protection and Software Updater are top and the rest is in my opinion for a ton.
Just to make sure everything is OK, I'll install MBAM as you suggest and run it to see what it says. I can also run several different AV scanners from live CDs.
I'm running version 7 of Avast Free on that XP machine. It's the last version before Avast started doing all sorts of strange things with their program.
--JorgeA
ADDITION: MBAM ran on the XP machine and didn't find anything.
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Terrorist group Al-Qaeda threatens to murder Microsoft founder Bill Gates
Needless to say, this is an extremely serious topic. Still, I could not resist laughing out loud at the following in the comments section:
QuoteGWX must've really pissed them off!
--JorgeA
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4 hours ago, heinoganda said:
Secondly, you can in the Directory "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Definition Updates\Backup" delete the contents and even try a definition update to install.
heinoganda, I tried your second idea first, as it was simpler than uninstalling and then reinstalling Defender. If deleting the backup folder contents didn't work, I was going to try PROBLEMCHYLD's new suggestion, and then if that didn't work either, I was going to uninstall Defender and reinstall it. And if that failed too, I was going to try some of the more complex solutions that have also been proposed in the thread.
But... it worked!!!
I deleted the contents of that backup folder, and now Windows Defender has the current definitions.
By next week, we will see if Defender can update itself, or if manual intervention is still needed.
--JorgeA
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43 minutes ago, PROBLEMCHYLD said:
This is what I'm talking about, click the cancel update button while its searching. It seems to kill some type of overload task in the background.
Ah, I see.
In XP, Defender (as opposed to MSE) doesn't seem to offer me a way to cancel the search for updates. (I did see a Cancel button in Defender for Windows 7.) The "Check for updates now" button turns gray, and I get a balloon coming off the system tray saying that Windows Defender is checking for updates. That's it.
In case it matters, that's Windows Defender version 1.1.1593.
--JorgeA
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No, Defender has been installed (and never uninstalled) since soon after I put that PC into operation about five years ago. I'll do that if necessary. Should I?
--JorgeA
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Thank you @PROBLEMCHYLD, @heinoganda, and @dencorso for the methods.
Unfortunately, this PC is being exceptionally stubborn:
For PROBLEMCHYLD's approach, in the Windows Update UI when I clicked to start the download, the dialog box disappeared into the system tray right away and if I hit Cancel before then the process would simply "fail to install." Maybe I'm not getting right the timing of the click.
For heinoganda's approach, after downloading and unpacking the RAR file as soon as I clicked on the EXE file the computer gave a BSOD. A trip to Event Viewer showed the following two events:
I'll try @dencorso's approach next chance I get.
--JorgeA
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Thanks for the ideas and questions. Here's what I did.
I ran CHKDSK and let it do its thing, then when XP rebooted I ran the REPAIR.BAT file. After a few seconds, the result was as follows:
Never mind the typo on the first try...
Launching Windows Defender, it still says it has old definitions, and the exclamation point still shows up next to the Defender icon in the notification area.
You asked which AV this machine is running. It's Avast Free. I scanned the computer with Avast, with MRT, and with Defender with the old definitions: no malware was found. I could scan the drive from a different PC.
Attempts today to update the Defender definitions through the program itself, as well as via Windows Update, have failed again.
Maybe I'll try the POSReady hack. If nothing else, the machine will get all sorts of other updates.
--JorgeA
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Thanks, Noel. That's a nice setup you've devised there.
I don't care for these abstractions, either -- ever since Windows 98 and the "My Documents" thing you could have heard me occasionally screaming, "Just show me where the d*mn files actually sit!!!"
The best approach we were able to find for my neighbor was that idea of manually typing the full path in the navigation box (? - I forget what it's called). In all the other combinations of applications and formats that I listed above, you could click your way to the desired folder, but not with Adobe on IE11. With that combination, you have to type the path.
One mitigating factor is that afterward it does seem to remember that path, so I imagine that over time all the different places where he stores PDFs will become click-accessible, but in the meantime it's tedious extra work.
And it's strange.
--JorgeA
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19 minutes ago, NoelC said:
What, you don't recognize keeping up with modern trends, Formfiller? Everything MUST suck a little more and work a little less, or it's "old and busted".
Regarding that new Windows 10 GWX nag screen... What does clicking that little arrow on the right edge do? Start the upgrade?
-Noel
Given the little circles along the bottom edge of the window, which usually indicate a self-changing display, I would speculate that the little arrow is for manually changing to what's in the next circle.
Then again, you would think that the function of a red X at the upper right corner of a window is to close the window without approving the action that the window proposes to take. But, at NuMicrosoft, consistency and established UI practices are passé. We are henceforth to be subject to the whims of the UI gods -- and we shall embrace it.
--JorgeA
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54 minutes ago, Formfiller said:
By the way guys, what is with this forum? The new version kinda sucks. It's flashier, but seems slower (instant loading in the old one vs all the javacript preloading, load on scroll etc. magic now) and it's buggier. One of the reasons I was away for a while.
The forum software feels quite NuMicrosoftian now (form over functionality, solving minor annoyances by creating far bigger ones), which is highly ironic.
My understanding of it is that MSFN is subject to the whims of the Forum Software Gods, whom @xper is obliged to obey. The alternative seems to be to seek out new forum software, which would risk losing everything's that's been built up here over the years.
Bottom line: xper and the rest of us are getting dragged along by the tide.
--JorgeA
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Here's one small improvement to Windows 10:
New Windows 10 build kills controversial password-sharing Wi-Fi Sense
QuoteAccording to Microsoft, few people actually used the feature and some were actively turning it off. “The cost of updating the code to keep this feature working combined with low usage and low demand made this not worth further investment,” said Gabe Aul, Microsoft’s Windows Insider czar.
Great, it turns out that it IS possible to overestimate the ignorance, indifference, or stupidity of the Windows user base: enough of them were going into their settings to turn off this "feature," that MSFT decided to scrap it.
Wi-Fi Sense was a nightmare waiting to happen. Maybe the lawyers got involved and actually did some good before disaster struck.
--JorgeA
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Microsoft makes final, aggressive Windows 10 upgrade push
QuoteAccording to both the latest and the previous versions of the support document, the upgrade and its scheduled implementation is approved when the user either clicks the "OK" button or the "X" in the upper right corner of the notification.
"If you click on OK or on the red 'X', you're all set for the upgrade and there is nothing further to do," the document stated. The "X" Microsoft mentioned is one way to close a window in Windows.
But Microsoft's interpretation of clicking the X is contrary to decades of practice in windowed user interfaces (UIs) and normal user expectations: To users, shutting a window by clicking the X tells the OS to remove the notification or application frame without expressing an opinion, selecting an option or calling up an operation.
Instead, Microsoft equates closing the window with approving the scheduled upgrade.
Microsoft has applied some unusual stratagems in its efforts to get customers to upgrade to Windows 10, but this behavior is among its most aggressive simply because it is deceptive in the context of normal Windows UI behavior.
[emphasis added]
Just incredible. What is it called when a pop-up ad on a website goes ahead and installs that PC cleaner anyway if you click on the red X in the corner?
--JorgeA
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Thanks for the information, heinoganda.
Based on what you said, I went into the log file and found many entries similar to the following example:
Spoiler----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Command: MpSigStub.exe /program "C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\Download\Install\mpas-fe.exe" WD /q
Start time: 5/16/2016 12:24 AM (version 1.1.12745.0)================================= CacheMpSigStub =================================
Copied MpSigStub.exe to C:\WINDOWS\system32\MpSigStub.exe
=================================== ProductSearch ==================================
Failed to get MpTriggerErrorHeartbeatReport address for product WD. (error 0x8007007f).
Failed to get MpManagerOpen address for product WD. (error 0x8007007f).
Failed to get MpHandleClose address for product WD. (error 0x8007007f).
Microsoft Windows Defender (downlevel):
Status: Active
Product: 1.1.1593.0
Engine: 1.1.12603.0
Signatures: 1.217.2157.0================================ PackageDiscovery ================================
Package files discovered:
C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpasbase.vdm (1.219.0.0)
C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpasdlta.vdm (1.219.1665.0)
C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpengine.dll (1.1.12706.0)AS FE:
Engine: 1.1.12706.0
AS base VDM: 1.219.0.0
AV base VDM: Not included
AS delta VDM: 1.219.1665.0
AV delta VDM: Not included================================= MpUpdateEngine =================================
Package files for the engine update:
C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpasbase.vdm (1.219.0.0)
C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpasdlta.vdm (1.219.1665.0)
C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpengine.dll (1.1.12706.0)ERROR 0x80070005 : MpUpdateEngine(C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314)
ERROR 0x80070005 : IProduct->UpdateEngine================================= ValidateUpdate =================================
mpengine.dll version in package is 1.1.12706.0, but after update machine has older version 1.1.12603.0
mpasbase.vdm version in package is 1.219.0.0, but after update machine has older version 1.217.0.0
mpasdlta.vdm version in package is 1.219.1665.0, but after update machine has older version 1.217.2157.0Watson Report: Position:
HRESULT: 0x80070005 P1
FailedFunction: MpUpdateEngine P2
Operation: AS FE P3
SourceComponentVersion: 1.1.12745.0 P4
SourceComponentName: mpsigstub.exe P5
ProductVersion: 1.1.1593.0 P6
ProductName: Microsoft Windows Defender (downlevel) P7
Unsent Error Heartbeat Report:
ProductName: Microsoft Windows Defender (downlevel)
HRESULT: 0x80070005
FailedFunction: MpUpdateEngine
Details: 0.0.0.0ERROR 0x80070005 : One or more of the packages found failed to update for Microsoft Windows Defender (downlevel).
ERROR 0x80070005 : One or more of the products found failed to update; returning this error
Deleted C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpasbase.vdm
Deleted C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpasdlta.vdm
Deleted C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\93775572-22bb-4b08-8448-20e565724314\mpengine.dll
ERROR 0x80070005 : MpSigStubMain
End time: 5/16/2016 12:24 AM
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have highlighted the lines that I think may be most relevant in this entry.
What do you think?
BTW, I just tried, once again, to update Defender the regular way, and once again it failed.
--JorgeA
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^^
It would be interesting to learn how much malware today could affect, say, a Windows 98 system.
--JorgeA
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Like seeing Promoted Apps in the Start Menu? You'll love the Windows 10 Anniversary Update
QuotePossibly the most despised feature of Windows 10 is advertisements. They show up in your apps list, lock screen, and even the Start Menu. Sadly, Microsoft plans to double the amount of Promoted Apps that you'll find hiding in the Start Menu when the Windows 10 Anniversary Update is released this summer.
More specifically, the number of Suggested Apps will increase from five to 10. At the same time, the number of "static" apps (stock apps that are pinned to the Start Menu by default) will decrease from 17 to 12.
Another good reason to drag the Start Menu's right border all the way to the left edge of the screen and make the tiles disappear.
[source: https://www.neowin.net/images/uploaded/2016/05/6_capture.jpg]
Note the bit at the bottom about users being "in control." So, are you going to let us replace these Start Menu tile panels with a link panel as in XP, Vista, and 7? If you did, then we might have something that's actually useful there. What a joke.
As @xpclient says, maybe we're expected now to be mere consumers instead of producers.
--JorgeA
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The manual method for updating Windows Defender (not MSE), involving the download of the mpas-fe.exe file, unzipping its components, and then running MPSigStub.exe -- seems to have stopped working for me. Am I forgetting a step somewhere?
It might be necessary to start using one of the automated methods.
Another possibility: I have one XP system where the POS hack was applied. Defender on that one is staying up to date by itself.
Maybe applying the hack to the other XP machines will fix Defender updates for them, too?
--JorgeA
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Thanks very much, now I understand.
Microsoft has become so
obnoxiousaggressive about keeping everybody current that I'll be pleasantly surprised if it turns out that users can keep those cumulative updates at bay indefinitely, but only time will tell for sure. I would expect the next build to be the Anniversary Update coming out around the end of July. But even lesser updates (sub-versions of a build) can cause havoc, as we've seen lately with @bigmuscle's Aero Glass.4 minutes ago, NoelC said:The question right now seems really not to be one of "where is the best value" but rather "where is the least pain".
And that sums up, in one sentence, the sorry state that we've reached.
--JorgeA
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6 minutes ago, NoelC said:
[...] In a way, being insulated from their "update continuously" policy for the longest Windows 10 run ever will be a great incentive for more conservative folks.
Noel, could you elaborate on that a little? I'm not sure what you mean when you write about "being insulated from the 'update continuously' policy."
--JorgeA
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8 hours ago, xpclient said:
For every one who says WTH, there are 10 people who seem to find nothing wrong. They will silence the one critic. Even if we overlook the aesthetic angle, I find it completely unusable. I don't know what to click because everything is flat and hidden with symbols/icon-only UI. It is slow, non-responsive, requires a ton of scrolling because the UI is designed for touch and not mouse. Nothing much can be customized. It doesn't inform me anything about how to operate it - its user friendliness and intuitiveness is zero. Its mouse and keyboard operation is broken. Even Windows 8's UI was better than the crap in 10. I think they can force this crap on everyone but they can't make people buy new PC hardware. After a frustrating experience, everyone will avoid buying PCs altogether. That's the future I see.
A point that hasn't received much attention in the discussion is that as the public abandons PCs and switches to simple devices like tablets and phones, the foundation for tomorrow's new tech crumbles and disappears. The most prominent characteristic of these simple devices is that there is no self-evident way for the user to tinker with them: therefore, over time the number of (young) people exploring computers and developing an interest in learning how they work and making them do things will dwindle. The result will be less tech understanding and less innovation in computing. There will even be fewer people with a deep enough understanding to create the Candy Crush-type apps that the public loves and that we here love to hate.
We are eating the seed corn.
As an aside, if people do avoid buying PCs altogether, it will mean the end of Microsoft, as they have failed to make a dent in the mobile device market. Cloud services? A dime a dozen. Xbox? Maybe a few million diehards will stick around to keep the Microsoft brand barely alive in the ICU. Bing? Without a healthy market for PCs on which they can pre-install that search engine, the future is grim: there's no compelling reason for anybody to use it and they're not going to spontaneously start switching to it.
--JorgeA
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Dedoimedo gives a progress report on XP two years into EOS.
QuoteAnd what about security?
Ah, as always, the most over-ultra-extra-hyped thing in the industry. Nothing breeds headlines and profit like sensationalist headlines. And in this case, all the talk about how your virginity will disappear come the end of Windows XP support is equally spectacular. But the thing is, there's nothing too special about this really.
--JorgeA
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3 hours ago, xpclient said:
Here's what I think is happening. Earlier computers were used for work+entertainment. Ever since devices arrived with the sole purpose of entertainment and less serious tasks, Microsoft has gone insane and now thinks the PC is just an entertainment device. That is why things like fashion design and form have taken over function and solid, objective improvements. Computer science is turning into one of the "arts" stream/field. Since the number of people who only want entertainment and instant gratification by any new crap is far far greater than those who care about things like progress and making it actually work better in all aspects, it is no longer computer science. Nobody seems to care even though in science, better things can be objectively proven. It is now "computer arts".
What I don't understand is for someone who has studied computer science and system software and operating systems, those DEVELOPERS and IT PROs - do they not see how awful Windows has become? Those who cannot tolerate this (like myself) might change their line of work if possible to something that is meaningful and less stupid.
A great post, indeed.
My only quibble is that Microsoft is failing (has failed) even from the design angle. IMO the flat, opaque themes of Windows 8 and 10 just can't hold an esthetic candle to the 3D translucency of Aero Glass. And of course Vista and Win7 allowed you to easily switch to an opaque theme if you liked, whereas that's not possible in 8 or 10 without going into significant contortions (and even those don't necessarily stay working in Win10 as new builds come out).
I truly don't understand what Microsoft thinks they're up to with all the visual and functional changes they've made to Windows in the last five years. None of it has yet become an unqualified success, and a lot of it has proven an unmitigated failure.
--JorgeA
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4 minutes ago, NoelC said:
Consider this server name carefully:
-Noel
Wow, that's quite a find, Noel -- one worthy of "The Finder".
What do you suppose that entry means?
--JorgeA
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1 minute ago, NoelC said:
P.S., I don't know how many times I tried to use the forum's quote facility on your actual post - and got Jorge's instead. But no matter, I can still copy and paste... I have the impression that somehow MSFN is now more closely associated with Microsoft, given the degradation in performance and usability here. Is that the case?
I suspect that, more than anything else, it has to do with the newfangled, modern, cool new forum software that the developers have inflicted on MSFN.
--JorgeA
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I deleted the contents of that backup folder, and now Windows Defender has the current definitions.
Maybe applying the hack to the other XP machines will fix Defender updates for them, too?
Windows 10 - Deeper Impressions
in Windows 10
Posted
Yup.
--JorgeA