Wow. This is a tough one..

[WarHorse47]

Last Tuesday my new computer was hit with a virus that resulted in a reinstall of my Windows 8 Operating System.

Prior to this catastrophe I had FS 2004 up and running beautifully. Unfortunately, I did lose some favorite freeware and payware a/c.

I've been able to reinstall FS 2004 and copy over all my addon scenery, settings, gauges, effects, etc., and have been able to reinstall most of the lost a/c but am encountering some problems that I'm trying to solve.

The first problem is the compass heading [see the posting in Tweaks and Tips]. Another problem I'm noticing are unusual environmental sounds I'm hearing during a cold start - like there is an invisible aircraft on the taxiway. Both of these may be related to corrupted addon scenery which I'm in the process of trying to track down.

The biggest problem has been that I am unable to reinstall my VRS Superbug. Although I can activate the product, the gauges are not working. Consequently, the dsd_axis_control file is not being updated to reflect my controllers AND after loading the aircraft there are no visual models. In discussing this with VRS support the McAfee anti-virus protection I'm now running may be preventing some of the gauges from loading.

At this point its all a guessing game as to what is going on. One other suspected cause is that the FS copy I had on my external drive got corrupted during the O/S reinstall. I'm not sure of any of this, and I sure am not looking forward to a full, clean install since I've spent so many hours so far just getting back into the sim.

Anyone have experiences with their anti-virus program causing headaches with FS 2004? How can I tell if that is the cause of my issues? And if it is should I be looking for another A/V program?

Grateful as always

[Sunny9850]

Is there an option to temporarily turn off the AV program ??.
If so I would suggest disconnecting from the net and then turning the program off for a test run.

Also is there an option in W8 to run as Adminstrator similar to what W7 had ?? I would try that first.

Finally did you simply copy the backup onto the internal drive ?? In that case I would normally try to run the Flight1 registry tool but I don't know if the program works in W8.

Worst case rename the installation you have now. Then re-install from the disks. Run this new install once and shut it down. Rename the new install and finally rename your original install back.
This way all the registry entries for FS should point to the correct location.

And of course FS on W8 should probably not be located in any OS folders....such as Program Files.
Directly on the C drive in something like C:\FS9 would be my suggestion.

Cheers
Stefan

[Shessi]

Hi WH,
If you try the other possiblities, associated with getting Fs9 up and running in Win8, and these do not work and you want to get rid of McAfee then:-

If you have bought McAfee, then you may feel you have to get your monies worth and keep it. If not then please get rid of Macfee, uninstall using the uninstall tool at McAfee's site. Install a freeware version AV such as AVG or as I always use, Avast.
There will be many saying 'I have been using McAfee with no problem... etc etc', and this may be true of some but I assure you McA is repsonsible for a lot of glitches, it's too 'heavy' and gets into places it does not need to be. Bigger is not always better, you do not need McAfee/Norton 360 et-al, even M$ Security Essentials is light-weight and very good, and again free.

Good luck

Cheers Shessi

[WarHorse47]

Sunny and Shesi, thanks for the responses. Here is what I know so far.

* FS9 does run under W8, but in my case has a few glitches as I've outlined.

* Yes, I can disconnect from the net and shutdown McAfee and see if I can get the Superbug to activate. But first I wanted to hear from others.

* McAfee is free at the moment. A one year trial as part of the computer purchase. It's been awhile since I used it. I used MS Security Essentials on my XP and my wife's W7 laptop with no problems; however, W8 comes bundled with Windows Defender which let me down. I did attempt to install MSSE at one time, but the system said it was being protected by Defender. Yeah, right.

What happened is that I was tracking down shipping information on the first computer I received. I used a link to FedEx on my desktop to their tracking site. When I went to print the information, I immediately got a scripting error in IE 10. Within seconds my Security Control (including defender and the firewall) and audio system shut down. After contacting Tech Support, we attempted to download the Remote Assistance software only to have it deleted because the (shutdown) virus system claimed it was a virus. I ended up using the wife's computer to get the program and get it installed. After the Tech Support played around with my system to eradicate the virus, whatever he ran started searching for files on the external drive before I caught it and unplugged it (which is why I suspect some corruption of my FS 2004 files). When all was said and done, the system was hosed and wouldn't even boot - it kept looping through recovery mode, looking for the OS or partition that had been already damaged.

[WarHorse47]

Here's a related question for the experts.

What controls the environmental sounds? Is it sound.dll, or some other file?

Thanks again.

[WarHorse47]

Well, at least I have one answer.

I confirmed that the McAfee Security Center I installed the other day is detecting some key VRS Superbug gauges as threats. No warning, no record, no quarantine - just outright removal. So in other words I will not be able to reinstall the Superbug until I find a replacement Anti-Virus software for Win 8 that doesn't detect those specific gauges as threats.

[Bjoern]

www.free-av.com


Been using Antivir for years, never had problems with it.

[Navtech]

Use anything as antivirus .. but McAfee or Norton and you will be safe :)
I use ESET NOD32 and as plus .. Malwarebytes
Of course a good firewall (two ways check .. not like the Windows one) is mandatory (if you are not behind a router)

Last Tuesday my new computer was hit with a virus that resulted in a reinstall of my Windows 8 Operating System.

Prior to this catastrophe I had FS 2004 up and running beautifully. Unfortunately, I did lose some favorite freeware and payware a/c.

I've been able to reinstall FS 2004 and copy over all my addon scenery, settings, gauges, effects, etc., and have been able to reinstall most of the lost a/c but am encountering some problems that I'm trying to solve.
You could have avoided all this hassle if you had Acronis !


http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/#overview


I confirmed that the McAfee Security Center I installed the other day is detecting some key VRS Superbug gauges as threats. No warning, no record

Usually and normally any "good antivirus" (like ESET NOD32) ! have a "exclude list" (exclusions) option !
I suggest you to use this option for put in this list your entire FS2004 folder and any of the stuff related to the sim that can be detected as false positive
And also:
Stop your antivirus (real time scanning) during the installation of your aircraft and reactivate after you have updated your exclude list
So you been winning on two fronts: :)
You eliminate false positive and your simulation is not (possibly) slowed by the realtime scanning

[vonernsk]

Warhorse,

I had a slightly different experience when re-installing the VRS Superbug into FS9 using Windows 7 64bit as the O/S.

Unlike you, I had the complete working cockpit, incl VC, but nothing visible of the a/c itself. I could happily fly it around but if I tried to watch a re-play landing or approach, or even step outside the cockpit during flt (as us simmers are wont to do) - nada, nothing, nix. The ultimate stealth fighter LOL.

Had a very informative exchange with VRS who stated that the prob came from the McAfee anti-virus I use and that they had approached McAfee on the subject - to no avail.

I suppose that I could try re-installing it and using it with Anti-Virus switched off, but never felt happy about this option and so there the matter rests.

No help to you I'm afraid but you are not alone.

Rgds
Mal

[Mick]

Every time I run Spybot Search & Destroy it reminds me that McAfee AV, along with one or two other AV programs (not including Norton) meet the standard definition of malware because they make unrequested changes to the user's computer that can interfere with its operation. Not sure if my wording is an exact quote, but it's close and I know I got the meaning right.

I have read elsewhere that McAfee AV is unfriendly to MSFS. If the folks who work on Spybot S&D are correct, as time goes on you may find out that MS isn't the only software that you're having unexpected problems with.

You may have to choose between McAfee and your ability to run FS normally.

If you had a different AV program on your old computer and are now using McAffee for the first time, that would seem to suggest that McAffee is the problem here.

[kikas]

I use Avast! and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, both are free and light on resources

[WarHorse47]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'll look into the other A/V programs as time permits. What I've learned is that whatever I chose needs to work with Windows 8.

McAfee is definitely the culprit. I found where it quarantines two key gauge files for the Superbug. Whenever I attempted to restore them, the Real-Time Scanning quarantined them again. I attempted to exclude the specific panel folder and individual files, but that didn't matter. I'm thinking I might contact McAfee Support to see what they say. Both files, by the way, are being recognized as an Artemis Trojan. McAfee does not make things easy for the end user, and I don't like the fact that there is no immediate warning of the action taken. The only other quarantined files are related to the Captain Sim C-130 installs.

The VRS install is but one issue I'm dealing with. Over the last four weeks I'm having to adapt and relearn a new compute, monitor, keyboard, mouse, controllers and Operating System, as well as trying to learn a new paint program. At the same time I've had to deal with the vendor and tech support over hardware issues and the reinstall of the OS, followed by a reinstall of all my applications including FS 2004. While this is going on I also cleaned up my old computer and donated it to our local flight museum with the intent of letting visitors fly FS 2004 as part of their museum experience.

FS 2004 does work beautifully on the new box, but as reported elsewhere I've got an issue with compass settings. I also noted that my starting elevation is off as well, and I'm getting some strange environmental sounds during my standard cold start. So when and if I get a chance to do some flying, I'm excluding groups of addon sceneries to determine which may be corrupted and causing these problems. If anything I may need to start all over again.

I've learned a lot, but am not out of the woods yet and I've got to prepare for a visit from family later this week.

Another fine mess. :sleep:

BTW - Another thing I'm dealing with is Internet Explorer 10. It works just fine, except for my posts on SOH. I have to go back and forth between the three editing options just to place an emcon and correctly separate my paragraphs.

[alastairmonk]

Hi,

Periodically there are comparative reviews on AV products. Inevitably the title being awarded "best buy" will vary from year to year, but if there has been something that has been consistent is that McAffee and MS Security Essentials routinely score badly for virus detection. Whether you want a free product or are prepared to pay, there are far better options.

I have no personal experience of Win8, but from what I read one of the selling points is the "firewalling" of the OS, making infection much harder. Clearly your experiences suggest that this is not exactly so ...

Alastair

Edit: posted the same time as your latest reply. IE10 may be an improvement on previous versions but it is still bloated compared to some of the competition. Me, I use Mozilla Firefox !

[WarHorse47]

Alastair

Selecting another A/V program seems to be a crap shoot. Many have good experience with what they use, but how do you know its not a matter of luck?

I read elsewhere that MS Security Essentials and MS Defender got high ratings. I used MSSE on my old box and its still running on the wife's W7 laptop. Win 8 came with MS Defender, and I trusted it. I've run earlier versions of both McAfee and Norton on my home PCs, and McAfee was used by state employer during my 22+ years, but others still contracted viruses due to stupid actions by users.

The first rule I follow is always use a trusted site. The virus I encountered came from just that. It's possible the site was hacked, and as I went to print some information I encountered scripting errors which loaded the virus on my machine (we think). Although Win 8 and MS Defender indicated I was protected, firewall and all, it didn't stop this one. I now have McAfee configured to scan for scripting issues.

I'm definitely approaching this issue cautiously. I'm very gun shy at the moment, and still licking my wounds.

[Motormouse]

Alastair

Selecting another A/V program seems to be a crap shoot. Many have good experience with what they use, but how do you know its not a matter of luck?

I read elsewhere that MS Security Essentials and MS Defender got high ratings. I used MSSE on my old box and its still running on the wife's W7 laptop. Win 8 came with MS Defender, and I trusted it. I've run earlier versions of both McAfee and Norton on my home PCs, and McAfee was used by state employer during my 22+ years, but others still contracted viruses due to stupid actions by users.

The first rule I follow is always use a trusted site. The virus I encountered came from just that. It's possible the site was hacked, and as I went to print some information I encountered scripting errors which loaded the virus on my machine (we think). Although Win 8 and MS Defender indicated I was protected, firewall and all, it didn't stop this one. I now have McAfee configured to scan for scripting issues.

I'm definitely approaching this issue cautiously. I'm very gun shy at the moment, and still licking my wounds.

I used f-secure , based on Kaspersky for ages until they stopped allowing multiple installations with one license key.
Swopped to Avast free .

Ttfn

Pete

[WarHorse47]

I've heard of Kaspersky. Their Pure 2.0 Total Security is on sale for $69.95.

One thing I've experienced inn the past is that some of these payware A/V programs require an annual membership or enrollment if you want to continue to get updates to fend off the latest viruses, etc.

Anyone using this? Any comments?

[Sunny9850]

Here is my two cents on this.

All three of my personal PCs have been running AVAST for years and I have not had any issues with any of them.

The company I work for has been running McAfee for the last 6 years and we have had virus infections three times in that time that were bad enough to require server disconnects and rebuilds for multiple days. Now to be fair there is only me working on the three PCs and there are 300-400 people connected to the corporate network and the Internet at the worst time. So the thread potential is obviously not really comparable. I would also volunteer that at times our IT department is not exactly on the knife edge of technology...and they may have had incorrect settings that allowed an attack to happen.

For my money though the free Avast combined with a good pay ware backup plan is the best option for the serious FS enthusiast.

Cheers
Stefan

[Mick]

Well, Kaspersky is one of the programs that Spybot S&D warns about that meet the definition of malware because it makes unrequested and unannounced changes to the user's computer.

Windows has had a built-in firewall at least since Windows XP. It seems to work and has never caused me any trouble, but I wouldn't rely on it alone. I wouldn't rely on any one security program alone.

All AV programs must need updates to stay ahead of new malware; I don't see how anyone could write a security program that didn't need to be updated regularly, as new threats are constantly emerging. I would be pretty suspicious of a program that didn't charge a subscription fee for the updates. A lot of work goes into identifying and writing protection against new threats, and I don't know of anyone who's any good at anything who works for free. Maybe there are exceptions, but I think the old adage that "you get what you pay for" applies as well to security software as anything else.

OK, I know - there's a lot of professional quality freeware flight sim software available, but flight sim developers do it as their hobby. They aren't "working" for free, they're having fun and sharing the results. I think the people who do heavy-duty, professional security software must mostly do it for a living. I guess there are some folks who might do it for fun, but I doubt that there are very many of them.

I have the built-in Windows firewall, Norton AV, and Spyware Blaster running all the time, and once a week I run a check with Spybot Search & Destroy. (I used to run AdAware on my previous confuter but stopped using it because it kept quarantining flight sim files, and because I realized that I had more security software than I needed.) I make it easy for my security suite by not visiting places like porn sites, never opening suspected spam, and paying attention when Firefox tells me that it finds something suspicious on a page. As annoying as they are, I also accept the flood of Windows and Firefox security updates. I have never had a virus, a Trojan, a spybot or any other kind of malware on any of my confuters.

I think Internet Exploder also warns you about suspicious pages and attempted downloads, but I hate IE and I've used Firefox for years. (This confuter came with IE8; I checked it out and found that I despised it even more than I had previous versions. I accepted the upgrade to IE9 and my quick look didn't show me anything different from IE8. I haven't bothered to accept the upgrade to IE10.)

You don't have to do everything just like me, but what I do seems to work quite well.

[Motormouse]

Here is my two cents on this.

All three of my personal PCs have been running AVAST for years and I have not had any issues with any of them.

The company I work for has been running McAfee for the last 6 years and we have had virus infections three times in that time that were bad enough to require server disconnects and rebuilds for multiple days. Now to be fair there is only me working on the three PCs and there are 300-400 people connected to the corporate network and the Internet at the worst time. So the thread potential is obviously not really comparable. I would also volunteer that at times our IT department is not exactly on the knife edge of technology...and they may have had incorrect settings that allowed an attack to happen.

For my money though the free Avast combined with a good pay ware backup plan is the best option for the serious FS enthusiast.

Cheerso
Stefan

Pretty much same here. Avast free, with f-secure free online backup.

Ttfn

Pete