Possible problem with 3.80?

[phthisic]

I was having some problems with a program and happened to start a screensaver in the process of trying to fix it. To my surprize, it did not appear in the Process Lasso list of processes. Besides exe's, there are a number of Windows executable types, including scr, chm, com, and even some malware can execute as tmp. Some programs execute with a number of different file types, some even proprietary. That an executable type is not in this list is an extremely serious problem. Without being able to see all processes, it becomes very difficult to control them. The scr was consuming 90% of my CPU according to Windows Task Manager, and yet that huge percentage was completely unaccounted for in Process Lasso.

I even run Process Lasso and Process Governor as processes under System credentials. That means that it has accesses that even exceed those of an administrator. But still, scr not listed.

Is this a known problem? Is there a solution on the horizon?

One other bug I found is that PL kept lowering the priority of an important process even after I excluded it from restraint. I just thought of this, but I wonder if it has to do with the fact that before that I had also set a default startup priority for that process. If that is set, does the exclusion setting no longer work?

[Jeremy Collake]

Process Lasso doesn't care about the extension of the filename of processes, so the reason you aren't seeing them is NOT because they have a different extension (i.e. *.SCR). At no point in my code do I care what the extension of a process's filename is.. that's something I know better than to do . In fact, the stand-alone CPU Eater launches a background process named 'bg.tst', which is restrained during the test. Note that the CPU Eater included within Process Lasso itself uses 'TestLasso.ese', in case you try this test. My point is just that I'm well aware that a process filename can have any extension. After all, please remember one of my areas of expertise is Windows executables (PE format), having written a popular executable compressor and many other utilities to manipulate Windows executables.

You said you tried running it under System credentials, but its important you ALSO select 'Highest' rights during the install process. Process Lasso has its own settings, and they must correspond with the mode its running in. So, you have to properly configure it to run with 'Highest' rights, not just launch it with Administrative rights.

If I had to guess, I would say that the reason you aren't seeing them is because they are running with elevated rights, and Process Lasso doesn't have sufficient rights to manage them. Any process it doesn't have 'write' access to, it ignores and won't list. It also ignores processes running under other user context's when not in 'Highest' rights mode. So, maybe try reinstalling and selecting 'Highest' rights, if you didn't already.

I recommend the average user just use 'Normal' rights because in multi-user environments I don't want multiple instances of Process Lasso to be all trying to manage the processes of all other users. Its designed to have an instance of the governor for each active user context.

I will check to make sure the exclusion works, even with a default priority. It certainly should work fine... and would be a bug if it is malfunctioning. I will check here and see what's going on. The two settings are completely unrelated, so shouldn't affect one-another. The only case of an exclusion malfunctioning would be the governor somehow using a different configuration file than the GUI, or a bug. So, I will investigate and see if I can discover any troubles.. If you had played with running the core engine under the system context, perhaps it ended up using a different configuration file? Its important to use the 'Global path overrides' seen in the second installhelper dialog if you run Process Lasso under a system context. If I had to guess, I would say any anomaly you saw was related to running the core engine in a non-default method... but I will definitely look into it.

Thanks for reporting this. I would be curious to find out why you aren't seeing certain processes. It really must be because of the configuration of Process Lasso and/or its ability to manage these processes. Again, any process it doesn't have 'write' access to, it ignores and won't list... and it also ignores other user processes if its not configured to run with Highest rights (per the InstallHelper config).

Hope this helps, and thanks for the feedback.

[phthisic]

Wow! What a complete response. I'll take your advice and try reinstalling under System credentials. It's true that I only decided to try running it that way after it was installed. And, in fact, because I don't like to mess with permissions when accessing files or registry entries, I also run some other apps under Local System. You may well have explained some pecularities I have had with those, too.

I'll keep better track of the process that PL seemed to keep restraining after I excluded it. I didn't pay too much attention because I didn't expect to be coming here.

Thank you very much for your time.

[Jeremy Collake]

I apologize if my response was a little lengthy and/or too thorough. I was still editing it just now, lol. I take any report of any troubles very seriously, as I am dedicated to having quality software. I also wanted to ensure you that I have the expertise to be writing such a system utility, as there are so many developers out there who write system utilities without proper knowledge of the system -- they just want to make a quick buck and don't care if their stuff really works or not. I see it all the time ;o. Therefore, I try to ensure people I am an expert in my field, though then it starts coming off a little arrogantly, lol... Oh well ;o.

Please let me know how it turns out. I am running tests here in just a minute to make sure the exclusion is working correctly under all conditions. If you encounter any anomalies, please do report them - as you did. The latest version was a major upgrade, and although I try my best to ensure it is bug free, I am not perfect and occasionally a small bug does get through. I'll hope that's not the case, but its not inconceivable. Most of the time problems are just misunderstandings, but bugs do happen. When they do, I squash immediately ;p.

[phthisic]

I realize that. And after your response, I began to wish I had not used such an alarmist title for the thread! I went back to try to figure out how to add "(No Longer)" to the title. LOL.

Thanks again.

[Jeremy Collake]

I realize that. And after your response, I began to wish I had not used such an alarmist title for the thread! I went back to try to figure out how to add "(No Longer)" to the title. LOL.

Hehe, I will do it for you since you've given implicit permission to do so . It was a little alarmist, lol.

I just did preliminary tests of the exclusion feature and haven't seen any problems, and of course I did regression tests before v3.80. That said, if you do see additional problems, please don't be afraid to let me know. I always want to hear about them, as opposed to burying my head in the sand, lol.

[phthisic]

Well, the more I think about it, the more I have to question my chutzpah to be running a program in a way it was not designed to run, and then make an issue about its not doing what it is supposed to. My tests should at least correspond to the default install. I apologize for that.

I know you work hard, and that is appreciated. And not perfect? Well, I consider that part of the charm of humanity. After all, we would never have defeated the Cylons if we never made mistakes. It was our mistakes, that they could not logically predict, that save our a**es!

I know a few things about Windows, too, many of which I can't even tell anyone. So, any way that I can, I will contribute to your success.

Take it easy, Jeremy.

[phthisic]

I reinstalled PL as System. Unregistered the supporting files for an scr so it would hang, and guess what? You were absolutely right. There it was in PL in all its glory. Thanks for your time.

I'm sure that I am not the only one that uses PL as a substitute for Task Manager, and the idea that I had to open Process Hacker or Task Manager to see everything had me worried.

Thanks.

[Jeremy Collake]

Thanks for the update. I'm sure this is a common misundestanding. One of the features that got deferred to v3.90 was the 'self-elevate now' or 'show all processes' type button within the GUI. I think this will help clear up a lot of confusion. However, I have to implement it carefully.

For any readers, note that I did add the capability to change the startup type without reinstalling the product, via the menu 'Options / General options / Reconfigure the way Process Lasso starts ...'.

Like I said, if you encounter anything else that doesn't seem right, do report it. Even if its a misunderstanding, it gives me an idea of what the majority of users who never report anything might see.

Thanks for your feedback my friend