Problems with Anti-Virus Software

[bbadmin]

Here are some of the problems that various anti-virus products have caused TextPad:

1. Complete lockup when opening files on a server.
2. Preventing drag selection from working, after saving a file.
3. Preventing user tool output from being captured.
4. Filling the first 4096 bytes of a file with null characters, when saving it. (We have implemented a workaround for this one, so it should not happen with the current release of TextPad.)

If you are experiencing any of those symptoms, please try turning off the AV software, before reporting the problem to us. If that helps, check for product updates, and if they don't help, send a bug report to the AV vendor, and let us know about it.

TextPad is designed to work with Windows, not against AV software.

Keith MacDonald
Helios Software Solutions

[verbam]

To avoid this problem use software like: AVG (Grisoft.com) Anti virus in combination with ZoneAlarm (Zonelabs.com).

These programs has the possibility to open ports, or programs 1 by 1.

Kg Danny

[rick.davis@davis-computin]

TextPad hangs/becomes unresponsive after attempting to open a file that is being monitored by the "File System Real Time Protection" feature.

The workaround is to change the monitored "File Types" from "All" to "Selected" and ensure that the file extension(s) you are editing with TextPad ARE NOT in the list.

Rick

[Pittur]

TextPad is designed to work with Windows, not against AV software.

Are you kidding? This seems to be a problem with more than one AV software I can't expect each AV corp to fix their AV monitors so they work with TextPad.

This is a problem with your design. You didn't expect that users would not use a virus protection and not design TextPad with that in mind.

I challange you to fix this horrible bug.

[bbadmin]

I can't expect each AV corp to fix their AV monitors so they work with TextPad.

The thing is, the anti-virus packages keep changing the methods they use. In every case I am aware of, where conflicts have arisen, TextPad worked until the anti-virus software was updated (possibly in conjunction with the installation of an operating system service pack). So, you may just as well blame the authors of the anti-virus software for not testing that their changes don't break existing applications.

In my opinion, they should be more selective in the files that they check, based on their extensions. That would be easy to do, depending on the default action for files of a given extension. For example, they are wasting their time with most of the files that a text editor modifies, such as TXT, CPP and HTML, whereas BAT and SCR could cause problems. Some AV programs let you control that behavior.

The lockups occur when the file is remote and TextPad's option to reload modified files automatically is checked. Whatever these AV programs do causes a difference between TextPad's notion of the time it saved the file and the timestamp returned by the operating system - probably by doing something clever with the cache, to save a physical disk access. As long as TextPad adheres to the rules for the standard Windows APIs it uses to read and write files (which it does), it should not need to take account of such (mis)behavior. Whatever the cause, it can generally be worked around by not setting the auto-reload option.

Keith MacDonald
Helios Software Solutions

[aeowyn]

Thanks for letting us know the work-around for this issue Keith. The lockups just started happening this week for me. I'm guessing this was caused by a corporate response to the last worm which snuck in. Once I changed the option you suggested, TextPad started working for me again.

[robreid]

I'm glad to see confirmation of what I suspected. Unfortunately the IT department in my company has established a set of rules for our AV software (McAfee's VirusScan Enterprise 7.0.0) that I cannot change. The client on my system checks in with a central server and resets the policy to the IT-specified rules. So I may have to limit my use of TP for files that are being written to by another process.

[kiyomi]

From the other thread "Lockup when opening files on a server", I tried this and it works for me (I have Norton AV corporate edition and cannot change the Filetypes option as suggested above):

Workaround
From the Configure menu, choose Preferences, then select File. Check Ignore, under When files are modified by another process, then click OK.

[vhdeskchris]

AVG has never caused me problems. Symantec is horrid