PE installer vs. SmartScreen security

[tiscando]

Hi all,
I got a stern series of security messages after a PE download using IE9 that may scare other users:
"bas805.exe is not commonly downloaded and could harm your computer"

clicking into "actions", a security popup (not like the usual ones) comes up and states "Smartscreen filter has little or no information about this unsigned program."

And just so you know how stern it is, I have to click "more options" on the security popup window, to see the "Run anyway" button.

What reassured me was Norton 360 reporting "Bas805.exe is safe."

[at least I don't get a program run security message every time I run this version of PE, like 5.3.5 did]

Could the download be at least given any information to give to the SmartScreen filter? Also, could it be given a publisher?

Thanks, T

 

[hippy]

I'm not sure if we could provide any information that would stop SmartScreen Filter raising an alert but the issue has been noted.

According to the Microsoft FAQ ...

SmartScreen Filter checks files that you download from the web against a list of reported malicious software sites and programs known to be unsafe. If it finds a match, SmartScreen Filter will warn you that the download has been blocked for your safety. SmartScreen Filter also checks the files that you download against a list of files that are well known and downloaded by many Internet Explorer users. If the file that you're downloading isn't on that list, SmartScreen Filter will warn you.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/SmartScreen-Filter-frequently-asked-questions-IE9

Programming Editor isn't malicious but nor is it "well known and downloaded by many Internet Explorer users" ( not in comparison to other general purpose software ) so IE9 and Smart Filter seem to be behaving as designed. There doesn't seem to be any whitelist for less common programs or means for a publisher to flag a program as safe so this looks to be the behaviour one has to accept when SmartScreen Filter is enabled.

 

[Jamster]

Annoyingly, every time i build my own programs from bbc basic to .exe Norton flares up, warns me, deletes the file and won't let me recover it. All because less than 10 people have used it...

I always wonder how programs actually get over 10 users in the Norton community if they can't get 1...

 

[eclectic]

Annoyingly, every time i build my own programs from bbc basic to .exe Norton flares up, warns me, deletes the file and won't let me recover it. All because less than 10 people have used it...

I always wonder how programs actually get over 10 users in the Norton community if they can't get 1...

Can't you use a spare old PC,
totally internet and Norton-free?

e

 

[tiscando]

Thanks Hippy.

Annoyingly, every time i build my own programs from bbc basic to .exe Norton flares up, warns me, deletes the file and won't let me recover it. All because less than 10 people have used it...

I always wonder how programs actually get over 10 users in the Norton community if they can't get 1...

Norton doesn't do that with programs built from Microsoft Visual Basic. Could be certain Microsoft security headers that BBC basic doesn't put in.

 

[hippy]

Norton doesn't do that with programs built from Microsoft Visual Basic. Could be certain Microsoft security headers that BBC basic doesn't put in.

I think we're getting confused here with different anti-virus, anti-malware tools and different circumstances of use.

Anti-virus tools such as Norton, Kaspersky, AVG etc may pop-up warnings because they think the code generated in a .exe file contains a malware signature. SmartScreen security I believe should only act with respect to downloads initiated within IE8.

The short term solutions to these problems are to live with them, disable or reconfigure the protections, or even uninstall those causing problems, use something else or forego protection. Longer term solutions are to contact manufacturers of these tools and hope they modify how they behave to suit your needs. It seems reasonable to me to request that an application allows you to decide what you want to do but if they disagree then it may be that their app is not suitable for you.

It may be possible to talk to the manufacturers of the tools and apps which are being affected but, if there's nothing wrong in what they are doing they may be inclined to consider it not their problem and suggest one of the short or long term measures.