Auto-Sandbox Question

Hi :slight_smile:

Last night my teenage son told me that he can’t get his Screen Capture Software to work any more.
He said every time he tries to save a recording… It Doesn’t Save!

Asked him had he had any Pop Ups from Avast… He Said No!
But to me it sounds like Avast has Auto-Sandboxed his Hypercam 2 :-\

I’m going to be booting up his desktop in a short while.
Can someone please tell me…

  1. Where do I look to check if Avast has indeed empounded his Hypercam in it’s Sandbox?
  2. What’s the easiest way to releases my sons Hypercam software from Auto-Sandbox?
    Note!
    I know how to get to the main Sandbox Settings.
    Just don’t know where to go from there: To… Find Hypercam 2 - & - Release From Auto-Sandbox ???

Thanks In Advance! :wink:

Hally

Personally I doubt it would be the auto-sandbox and more likely the behaviour shield.

Check the logs for both and see if there are any associated entries in the logs:
C:\ProgramData\Alwil(Avast) Software\Avast(5)\report\behaviorshield.txt file using notepad and check for any entries relating to the effected software. If there is try adding (copy and paste) the full path into the BehS, Expert Settings, Trusted processes and see if that helps, you may need to reboot.
Note - The text in the path within the brackets above may or may not be the option as both locations are valid depending on how you installed/updated to avast 6.0.

Repeat the check for the auto sandbox report.

I use SnagIt for screen capture software and that works just fine on XP Pro. I use Ashampoo Snap 3 on my win7 netbook and that too works with avast 6.0.1000. I don’t use Vista so I can’t check anything there.

So what screen capture software is being used ?

Hi David :slight_smile:

Oh Blimey!
That looks more complicated than I thought :-[
Behaviour Shield had also crossed my mind.

Hypercam 2 if I’m spelling it right :-
He’s had the Free version for about two years now.
He uses it to make movies of his Online Games and then sticks them on You Tube ::slight_smile:

Think I Might Just Check Out SnagIt!
Might just save me the bother of trying to work out what happened to Hypercam 2.

Thanks! :wink:

Hally

Edit!
Think it’s Jing he would need David: http://www.techsmith.com/jing/free/
As…
Snagit seems to be just for Still Pictures - & - Doesn’t seem to have a Free Version of it.

SnagIt is a paid option, but it does more than just still images it is highly configurable. However, there are times when an older version may be offered free as a hook that if you like it you will upgrade in the future.

That really isn’t complicated: find the file; open it with notepad (right click on it, open with); look for entries probably for the Jing executable; if present add to the Trusted processes.

Just take it a step at a time and don’t look at the whole picture (excuse the pun).

Considering SnagIt and Jing both come from TechSmith, I would have thought they would both be following the same basic execution function to capture images/video clips, etc.

Some time ago I did have a problem with SnagIt as it uses a windows explorer shell extension (a right click context menu) and that caused me no end of intermittent problems until I got rid of the shell extension using Shell Explorer View (ShellExView).

So I don’t know if when you right click in windows explorer there is a Jing entry in the menu (that may have a similar issue) ?

Hi David :slight_smile:

Sorry it’s taken me so long to come back :-[

Just To Clarify…
Re: Screen Capture Software
It was Hypercam 2 that my son was having problems with.
It was Jing that I thought might have been a good alternative for him.

Update!
Was running short on time.
Decided…
Instead of struggling with Hypercam 2 … I’d just quickly install Jing for my son instead.
Avast Auto-Sandbox prompted me twice during the install of Jing :o
Convincing me even more that Auto-Sandbox was maybe holding on to Hypercam 2.
Finally Got Jing Installed!
But couldn’t figure out how my son was going to be able to use if for the same stuff as he did Hypercam 2
So…
Also installed Jing on my Laptop so that I could try to figure it out.
Finally realising that my son was probably NOT going to be able to use Jing for his movie making :frowning:
Started trying to figure out what Avast had done with his Hypercam 2
What Had It Done?
Nothing… That’s What!
Turns out that my son has collected so much stuff in his Videos and Pictures folders… He Couldn’t Find Where He Was Putting His New Stuff!
Nothing Wrong With Hypercam 2 ::slight_smile:

But…
Now I’ve got Jing on both Desktop and Laptop - & - Not really sure what to do with Jing.
Can’t even figure out how to use Jing to put screen clips on one of my forums ???

Note!
Is it normal for Auto-Sandbox to Prompt / Ask during the installation of software such as Jing?
Jing should be Safe … Shouldn’t It? :-\

Thanks!

Hally

  1. If it were the auto-sandbox, a) it would have displayed the same pop-up and b) there should be an entry in the auto-sandbox log. So you would need to check the log given your son said no avast alerts ???

  2. I don’t know what your son used Hypercam for:

HyperCam captures the action and sound from any part of Windows desktop and saves it to standard AVI movie files.

But I believe there might well be a similar feature in Jing as it is supposed to be able to record screen input and audio.

  1. It depends on many factors, part of which may trigger the auto-sandbox. If you try to install directly from the internet (e.g. download and install in one action) or if the downloaded installation file isn’t digitally signed.

Once installed though it should be a slightly different issue as you can and probably should set the auto-sandbox to Ask rather than Auto in its setting. This allows you to have the file run normally and have it added to the list of exclusions.

Hi David :slight_smile:

After installing Jing yesterday and being prompted by Auto-Sandbox…
Now realise their is No Way my son would be able to miss an Auto-Sandbox pop up ;D
Anyway…
Turns out he didn’t!
Auto-Sandbox had NOT got his screen capture software - Hypercam 2
There was No Problem with his Hypercam 2 after all ::slight_smile:
My teenage son just needs to learn to keep his files and folders more tidy and organised.

The one thing that has come out of this problem that never was…
By installing Jing I’ve now learnt how to deal with an Auto-Sandbox prompt whilst installing new software.
Saying That…
Still not too sure what to make of Auto-Sandbox ( Like - or - Dislike ) :-\

Thanks!

Hally

Well, that’s good news at the very least.

I had a rash of auto-sandbox alerts (I have mine set to Ask) this morning whilst I was uninstalling an application and personally I couldn’t be happier with the auto-sandbox interventions (I like to be in control of my system) as they alert you to something that ‘could’ be suspicious.

Now if you or your son are installing software some times it will pop-up the alert depending on the circumstances, but since you actually initiated the actions it should be less of a panic than if you were just browsing or doing something nondescript and it fired.

So what it is doing is giving you some breathing space to do some thinking and ask some questions if necessary as the auto-sandbox has stepped in and interrupted the actions. For me that should be a bit of a reassurance rather than panic stations.

Hi David :slight_smile:

(I have mine set to Ask)

Me Too!
Actually is was already set to ask by default.

Now if you or your son are installing software some times it will pop-up the alert depending on the circumstances, but since you actually initiated the actions it should be less of a panic than if you were just browsing or doing something nondescript and it fired.

Think You’re Spot On!
That’s how I intend to view how Auto-Sandbox works.
If it suddenly popped up while I was doing nothing but browsing :o I’d be much more inclined to say… Sandbox!

Thanks! :wink:

Hally

You’re welcome.