VoodooShield discussion

[gorblimey]

if a software company wants to stay relevant, you have to actually update your software, make changes and add features...

You need to be cautious here Dan. I can remember too many times when major players took this thinking to heart, and fell into a morass. Netscape 4 (Communicator) comes to mind, where MS simply worked on "the browser (IE4), the whole browser and nothing but the browser." IE4 and 5 were arguably the best browsers they ever made, and IE is still going. Who has Netscape any more? Opera decided to introduce a mail function... Eudora moved to Thunderbird... Many AVs decided to be the FBI and CIA and Navy SEALS all together... Where are they now?

Me, I like one app doing one job, and frequently I find examples (Voodooshield comes to mind) where the job is performed excellently well. Cobbler, K-Meleon, there's quite a long list actually. By all means be inventive, but too much of a Swiss Army Knife becomes unwieldy bloatware, just ask someone who has one of those 50-tool pocket knives! Copy NirSoft and Sven Faw, lots of little apps that do a great job.

But yes, give Open Source a go. If it doesn't work out, you still have the IP rights and can go back to closed source if necessary.

 

[VecchioScarpone]

@Gandalf_The_Grey
All smooth here today with VS, fingers crossed.
Enjoy your weekend.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

@Gandalf_The_Grey
All smooth here today with VS, fingers crossed.
Enjoy your weekend.

@VecchioScarpone
Same here, no blocks no registration issues
Have great weekend!

 

[dvdke]

hey there,i am just a new member here.
i use avast free with comodo firewall,can i use voodooshield to?

 

[Brahman]

hey there,i am just a new member here.
i use avast free with comodo firewall,can i use voodooshield to?

yes of-course... no one is stopping you. you are the boss of your system.
Now if you ask me Do i need it along with comodo? no is the answer.
Will it do any harm? No.
My suggestion either use comodo or voodooshield both are excellent choices for ultimate protection.

 

[dvdke]

thx for the feedback.i mean if i use voodooshield with comodo and avast will voodooshield not conflict?

 

[Arequire]

thx for the feedback.i mean if i use voodooshield with comodo and avast will voodooshield not conflict?

There shouldn't be any conflict but VoodooShield will cancel out the usefulness of Comodo's non-firewall related features.
An example being that VoodooShield would stop malware from executing in the first place thus making Comodo Firewall's sandbox/HIPS irrelevant.

 

[shmu26]

A lot of people have used the VoodooShield+Comodo Firewall combo without problem. I am one of them, although I am not using CFW now.
There are certain advantages to each. The following is my ramblings on the subject:
VS has these advantages over CFW:
1 Protection starts up fast after rebooting
2 It does not rely on a vast and fallible trusted vendors list/approved files list
3 It gives you a lot of smart info about the risk level of new files.

Comodo Firewall has these advantages over VS:
1 It gives you protection for the entire system, including the heavy-duty Windows folders such as system32, (This is possible in VS, too, but it is an advanced option that is kind of hard to use, for various reasons)
2 It gives you firewall protection
3 If you enable HIPS it offers various advanced protections and greater granular control over the system
4 You can run your browser sandboxed if you so wish.

So you see, there is a certain justification to running both, although either one on its own will offer excellent protection. You only need both if you are paranoid security geek who likes lots of prompts and enjoys troubleshooting issues.

 

[gorblimey]

There is a significant delay in starting all programs. I have no Rules set, using VS in the same way as previous versions, except that Basic Settings are all ticked apart from "Automatically allow from Program Files folders". So VS is possibly being a bit over-zealous? Everything I normally use should be whitelisted twice by now, once by Snapshot and also by User/Auto Allowed.

Just bumping this issue... I'm using 4.09b now, and "Automatically allow from Program Files folders" is now ticked in Basic Settings. I've noticed that every app is pinged on the first usage, in spite of several snapshots and advanced snapshots, I'm using the default settings. Admin and my account is SMART MODE, the minions have Auto-Pilot.

FWIW, Task Manager shows ZAM.exe as current, with ZAMsvc and MBAMservice running, even though I only use them for on-demand scanning maybe once a month and if I need to re-install/upgrade VS. Perhaps I need to delete the auto-starts for these?

 

[shmu26]

I installed 409 on the wife's laptop, and put it in autopilot, but it keeps switching to smart mode.

 

[ZeroDay]

Is there no way we could start a funding campaign @danb So you could dedicate yourself more time, or full time to VS? You've done a great job so far.

 

[danb]

Just bumping this issue... I'm using 4.09b now, and "Automatically allow from Program Files folders" is now ticked in Basic Settings. I've noticed that every app is pinged on the first usage, in spite of several snapshots and advanced snapshots, I'm using the default settings. Admin and my account is SMART MODE, the minions have Auto-Pilot.

FWIW, Task Manager shows ZAM.exe as current, with ZAMsvc and MBAMservice running, even though I only use them for on-demand scanning maybe once a month and if I need to re-install/upgrade VS. Perhaps I need to delete the auto-starts for these?

Have you tried to take an Advanced Snapshot? I would have to look at the code, but from what I remember, I believe an advance snapshot will whitelist everything in the program files folders. I think we can think of an easy way to remedy this... let me see what I can come up with, thank you!

Edit: I forgot to add this... I am not sure what you mean by "Perhaps I need to delete the auto-starts for these?"... please let me know!

I installed 409 on the wife's laptop, and put it in autopilot, but it keeps switching to smart mode.

Hmm, very odd... what triggers it to switch to smart mode?

Is there no way we could start a funding campaign @danb So you could dedicate yourself more time, or full time to VS? You've done a great job so far.

Thank you... I appreciate that! I have thought about starting a crowdfunding campaign, and while it is a great option, I think there are better options for now... but who knows what the future will hold. Thank you for your input!

It happens here ONLY when my network adapter is slow to load on boot up. I think VS gets fed up with waiting for it to connect to the Internet, hence the rereg request.

Cool, thank you guys for your help... I think you guys have provided me with enough info to isolate the issue. Let me see what I can do!

A lot of people have used the VoodooShield+Comodo Firewall combo without problem. I am one of them, although I am not using CFW now.
There are certain advantages to each. The following is my ramblings on the subject:
VS has these advantages over CFW:
1 Protection starts up fast after rebooting
2 It does not rely on a vast and fallible trusted vendors list/approved files list
3 It gives you a lot of smart info about the risk level of new files.

Comodo Firewall has these advantages over VS:
1 It gives you protection for the entire system, including the heavy-duty Windows folders such as system32, (This is possible in VS, too, but it is an advanced option that is kind of hard to use, for various reasons)
2 It gives you firewall protection
3 If you enable HIPS it offers various advanced protections and greater granular control over the system
4 You can run your browser sandboxed if you so wish.

So you see, there is a certain justification to running both, although either one on its own will offer excellent protection. You only need both if you are paranoid security geek who likes lots of prompts and enjoys troubleshooting issues.

Great comparison between VS and an auto sandboxing firewall... thank you! It might be interesting to compare VS to other technologies as well, such as HIPS and SRP. I think the biggest advantage that VS has over both HIPS and SRP is that it always blocks the file pre-execution, so it blocks the file completely... not let it run half way, potential modify the system, and then block it. And of course another advantage is that VS is quite adept at blocking kernel level attacks. But I would be curious to see what disadvantages VS has.

 

[shmu26]

Hmm, very odd... what triggers it to switch to smart mode?

Just flip open the lid of the laptop, that's all.

 

[Lightning_Brian]

Hi Dan,

I thought I let you know in the form that I have confirmed that there looks to be a cert problem/config. problem on the website:

The certificate expired on Saturday, October 28, 2017, 7:59 PM. The current time is Sunday, October 29, 2017, 12:16 PM.

Error code: SEC_ERROR_EXPIRED_CERTIFICATE

Thought I keep you in the loop on this. I had this happen to my company not long ago. Those certs grr..Being a system administrator I have far too many certs to remember about. Hope this helps you!

Please continue to up the great work!!!! Words cannot express how happy I am with your great software! Simply amazing! You deserve so many great awards for your software and for your company.

Sincerely,

Brian

 

[boredog]

Hi Dan,

I thought I let you know in the form that I have confirmed that there looks to be a cert problem/config. problem on the website:
View attachment 171197


The certificate expired on Saturday, October 28, 2017, 7:59 PM. The current time is Sunday, October 29, 2017, 12:16 PM.

View attachment 171198

Error code: SEC_ERROR_EXPIRED_CERTIFICATE

Thought I keep you in the loop on this. I had this happen to my company not long ago. Those certs grr..Being a system administrator I have far too many certs to remember about. Hope this helps you!

Please continue to up the great work!!!! Words cannot express how happy I am with your great software! Simply amazing! You deserve so many great awards for your software and for your company.

Sincerely,

Brian

Hello Lightning_Brian

I see you made the leap to join MT. This is the place to be if you want to see Dan around.

 

[Lightning_Brian]

Hello Lightning_Brian

I see you made the leap to join MT. This is the place to be if you want to see Dan around.

Made the leap? Sorry not following.

 

[danb]

Just flip open the lid of the laptop, that's all.

Hmmm, very odd... if you open the DeveloperLog.log, and search for the word "Exception", do you see any exceptions? If so, can you please post them or email me them? Thank you!

Hi Dan,

I thought I let you know in the form that I have confirmed that there looks to be a cert problem/config. problem on the website:
View attachment 171197


The certificate expired on Saturday, October 28, 2017, 7:59 PM. The current time is Sunday, October 29, 2017, 12:16 PM.

View attachment 171198

Error code: SEC_ERROR_EXPIRED_CERTIFICATE

Thought I keep you in the loop on this. I had this happen to my company not long ago. Those certs grr..Being a system administrator I have far too many certs to remember about. Hope this helps you!

Please continue to up the great work!!!! Words cannot express how happy I am with your great software! Simply amazing! You deserve so many great awards for your software and for your company.

Sincerely,

Brian

Very cool, thank you Brian, and thank you for the heads up! Yeah, I noticed that this morning as well... our SSL cert for voodooshield.com expired, so I ordered another one this morning, so we should be good now. Thank you!

Hello Lightning_Brian

I see you made the leap to join MT. This is the place to be if you want to see Dan around.

Hehehe, if I can keep up . I actually just caught up on all of the PM's... now I just need to catch up on old posts and emails. I hope no one takes offense that it takes this long to reply to everything, but there are simply not enough hours in the day.

That is why I am starting to think it would be best to simply license our patented toggling web app / lock technology and post our code on github so that a lot of devs can work on it. Companies are starting to understand the value in our technology . If we go this direction, I would be able to keep up with communication a heck of a lot better than I am able to now.

I also thought of another way explaining the value of our patented tech. I have posted 3-4 times on WS an article that explains how 91% of all users disable UAC. Now granted, the article is around 3 years old, and UAC has come a long way, so I am not sure what that actual stat would be today, but we know it would be high.

Anyway, my point is that any locking technology is going to HAVE to be AT LEAST as user-friendly as UAC... otherwise, right off the top, 91% of users are not going to use it... this is just common sense. And if a tech is significantly more difficult to use than UAC, what percent of the 9% will use it? I am guessing half, but that is just a guess.

I guess what I am saying is that UAC is a phenomenal metric we can use to determine the squeal point for the majority of users.

And while VS is already quite user-friendly, I am the first to admit that there are a lot usability tweaks a team of devs can implement on VS. I can do it as well... but it would be much better if we had a small team of devs.

But imagine this if you will, take your favorite AV... ESET, Kaspersky, BitDefender, Webroot, hell, even Windows Defender, and also add a layer of protection that automatically locks the computer when it is at risk. Also add a "tangible" desktop shield gadget / lock, that:

1. Keeps the user informed of the status of the lock at all times

2. Allows the user to quickly and easily access the lock. This is important... imagine the military trying to fire a missile, and being unable to do so because their security software is blocking them.

3. Makes the user feel safe

One thing is for sure... if a user can use UAC, they will have no problem using VS. Not only that, but VS blocks a heck of a lot more than UAC, and provides extremely useful file insight to the user, so they can make an informed decision. Also, VS only blocks a file once... UAC blocks it each time the file is launched.

This is probably what I should have done a while back... but ever since the working prototype, you guys have encouraged me to keep developing the software... and I think that was the correct choice. But now it is time to explore other opportunities... then I will be able to keep up .

If you guys know of any company who would like to add our patented technology to their software, please let me know, THANK YOU!

 

[Lightning_Brian]

Very cool, thank you Brian, and thank you for the heads up! Yeah, I noticed that this morning as well... our SSL cert for voodooshield.com expired, so I ordered another one this morning, so we should be good now. Thank you!

@danb Dan, you're the man! Your welcome. Always happy to be of some assistance. I had this happen to me a while back. As a system administrator, it can be quite hard to keep track of all of the certs!

Keep up on your patented tech! I can see your company growing a lot over the next year and many many years to come. This software works great with any combination of AV software currently on the market - I have yet to find any incompatibilities. As you have mentioned your software adds another whole layer of great security to any computer. We must have many different layers of security in this day-and-age. Truly impressed by your work! Thank you for being part of the MT community.

I'll keep you in the loop if I hear any chatter from the companies that I speak with at ITMA out in Michigan, USA. Been a platinum member for a while there and those who I speak to (who are familiar with your work) are quite impressed. Not to mention all of the end-users who I help with always tell me how impressed they are with your free version of the software.

I know of so many people who use your software and they thank me quite often for having this on their system. I know of one couple who have been saved countless times from numerious nasty/bad stuff from getting onto their computers.

I keep hearing so many great things Dan! Nothing, but great news!

With much appreciation,

Brian

 

[shmu26]

A lot of people have used the VoodooShield+Comodo Firewall combo without problem. I am one of them, although I am not using CFW now.
There are certain advantages to each. The following is my ramblings on the subject:
VS has these advantages over CFW:
1 Protection starts up fast after rebooting
2 It does not rely on a vast and fallible trusted vendors list/approved files list
3 It gives you a lot of smart info about the risk level of new files.

Comodo Firewall has these advantages over VS:
1 It gives you protection for the entire system, including the heavy-duty Windows folders such as system32, (This is possible in VS, too, but it is an advanced option that is kind of hard to use, for various reasons)
2 It gives you firewall protection
3 If you enable HIPS it offers various advanced protections and greater granular control over the system
4 You can run your browser sandboxed if you so wish.

So you see, there is a certain justification to running both, although either one on its own will offer excellent protection. You only need both if you are paranoid security geek who likes lots of prompts and enjoys troubleshooting issues.

I think I should add another point: if we are comparing VS to CFW at CS settings, then we could add another advantage to VS, and that is the stronger vulnerable process protection. Maybe that is what Dan was hinting to before, when he was talking about advanced attacks.

 

[gorblimey]

Have you tried to take an Advanced Snapshot?

Yes, every time I get an "unwarranted" ping, I click to allow, then immediately take a snapshot and follow with an Advanced Snapshot to make sure. It seems to work.

Perhaps I need to delete the auto-starts for these?

I was wondering why the services for ZAM and M B A M were running when they are not providing real-time protection? And maybe they are interfereing with VS? I think I might disable them for a trial period. I'm fairly sure one of them is briefly hanging my box at shutdown.