I just joined the forum to report a problem with DEP. By editing the boot.ini to enable DEP, on some situations DEP will terminate Avast!.
Last time i used Avast! it detected something and DEP terminated it - perhaps not completely. I already uninstalled Avast! since i have no time to troubleshoot, and don’t use Windows regularly at home.
There is another report that this happens also when using the context menu scan.
I don’t expect you will have problems reproducing this issue.
Instructions from MS to enable DEP (as a reference for whoever reads this): http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875352
Keep in mind there are no exceptions in AlwaysOn. Any program that doesn’t comply WILL shut down.
Not really… I remember we tried and didn’t encounter any problems.
So, some more info would be needed, I’m afraid… such as at what situations exactly you get the error, if the error box displays any useful info about the particular problem, etc.
The last instance was with WormGuard downloaded from Majorgeeks. Ran it, Avast! popped and DEP quickly after. I was in a rush, just wanted to leave it configured and had to leave. Here’s another report http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1319736&postcount=1
Do you want me to try it again to see the exact error?
Every year after my annual reinstall, I test whether or not I can run with “DEP - /noexecute=AlwaysOn” set.
This year’s test revealed that only Avast and VMware server 1.0.8 fail the DEP requirements.
I’m running XP pro x64 sp2 (certain amount of loyalty as you guys were one of the 1st to support it).
The “On-Access Protection Control” appears to work correctly however DEP failures occur when one tries to run an Anti-Virus scan via either the explorer context menu or choosing “Start avast! Antivirus” by right-clicking the toolbar icon.
Interesting, I wasn’t able to simulate it on WinXP x64, only ordinary WinXP.
Anyway, the two problems you mention are caused by a Microsoft library (Explorer Extension) and the 3rd party skinning component (the rest of the GUI). So, I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do about it right now.
When avast! 5 is released, it will be built by a new version of the compiler, and it won’t use skins anymore - so both of the problems should disappear.
DEP has been set to AlwaysOn via boot.ini and Avast has absolutely no issues with it, I run Avast under LUA with SuRun. As a matter of fact none of the programs that I use on daily basis have any issues with DEP, the only one that did has been replaced, it was Orbit which has now been duly replaced by FDM. Open Office, Cocoon Video coverter, Paint.Net, Faststone Image Viewer and many more all work with no issues and so does Avast. Remember, I am on XPx64 with all latest patches.
Thats true, for many full DEP won’t work but I am lucky in that case. However from time to time if I run IE7 under my limited accout I get the DEP warning when I shut it off, doesn’t really matter as I rarely and hardly ever use IE, its stricly Opera for me and DEP has no issues with it thankfully.
I believe that full DEP requires that your Hardware supports that function, otherwise you have a limited software DEP function.
My CPU although relatively new supposedly doesn’t support hardware DEP, but I have no problem with avast and I haven’t added avast to the list of ignored programs.
According to Intel all Core 2 Duo processors support hardware DEP, perhaps there’s a setting in BIOS you need to enable.
Even so, you won’t need to add Avast to the list of ignored programs because Microsoft has already done it for you. The setting you have shown is OptOut:
DEP is enabled by default for all processes. You can manually create a list of specific programs that do not have DEP applied by using the System dialog box in Control Panel. Information technology (IT) professionals can use the Application Compatibility Toolkit to "opt-out" one or more programs from DEP protection. System compatibility fixes, or shims, for DEP do take effect.
Avast only has a problem with AlwaysOn:
This setting provides full DEP coverage for the whole system. All processes always run with DEP applied. The exceptions list to exempt specific programs from DEP protection is not available. System compatibility fixes for DEP do not take effect. Programs that have been opted-out by using the Application Compatibility Toolkit run with DEP applied.