PureBasic Forums - English

Hi @all

As a new PureBasic user, I'm starting right away with a (probably dumb) question.
When I am compiling & running a PB source code with "Debugger enabled" F-Prot complains about a virus and puts the temp file into quarantine:



Any idea what I can do about this? Thanks!

Welcome to PureBasic!

Not dumb, but a common issue. Search around the forum and you will find this has come up many times before.

Various anti-virus products often raise false-positives when looking at PureBasic components. The problem is with the anti-virus and not PureBasic. You will probably need to configure exclusions - haven't used F-Prot for many years so can't help with details but most can be 'tweaked' to ignore PureBasic and/or temporary compiled files.

Also maybe worth reporting the false-positive to the anti-virus manufacturer.

Thanks for your reply!

Just had a look at the F-Prot settings. The following exceptions are allowed:

• Folder - for me a no-go because the Temp folder may be used by any process, and I don't want to waive the protection for this
• File - for this I don't know the file name in advance
• Extension - same as above, too risky to exempt from security

So I need to switch off the Debugger feature.

> So I need to switch off the Debugger feature

Or get a better anti-virus. I use Avast, and if a false positive warning
pops up, it's just one click on that pop-up to whitelist the mistake so
that it never happens again.

Set the default-compilation to source-dir:

and then set it to exception.

PB wrote:Or get a better anti-virus. I use Avast, and if a false positive warning
pops up, it's just one click on that pop-up to whitelist the mistake so
that it never happens again.

Changing AV software is no option. F-Prot is part of our inhouse IT security.

After all, PowerBasic manages to have a debugger without triggering an alarm.

> PowerBasic manages to have a debugger without triggering an alarm

Oh, here we go.

Obviously it's a F-Prot issue, so you should submit the purebasic executable so they adjust the heuristic algo. No problem here with AVG.

Our lives should not revolve around heuristics, heuristics should revolve around our lives. Good AV should have good heuristics...

Ted.

[Edited]

File - for this I don't know the file name in advance

It will normally be PureBasic_Compilation0.exe

When developing your app, keep your source code, supporting files and the temporary exe that PB makes for debug in a folder you have created specifically for your project. Add that folder to the F-Prot 'White List' or 'Ignore List'. Likewise, add the PB Installation folder (Program Files) to the F-Prot 'White List'.

That's all there is to it, F-Prot will be happy.

76ea3a75 wrote:Thanks for your reply!

Just had a look at the F-Prot settings. The following exceptions are allowed:

• Folder - for me a no-go because the Temp folder may be used by any process, and I don't want to waive the protection for this
• File - for this I don't know the file name in advance
• Extension - same as above, too risky to exempt from security

So I need to switch off the Debugger feature.

No you don't.

If you can't get a more user-friendly AV program, then you just need to switch off the AV when coding/compiling.
What makes you think that you need the anti-virus 'protection' while programming?
The truth is that you really do not, and you'll find the debugger to be far more useful than the AV.
As long as you are not running unknown programs or web surfing, and have a working firewall, then your computer will survive without harm without the AV running for as long as you want to create and debug programs.
Just don't forget to turn the service back on before using the browser to surf the net or before running dubious downloads.

Don't worry, be happy.

76ea3a75 wrote:Changing AV software is no option. F-Prot is part of our inhouse IT security.
After all, PowerBasic manages to have a debugger without triggering an alarm.

Did you really have to go there?
Really?

> Our lives should not revolve around heuristics, heuristics should revolve around our lives

Heuristics should not exist. They're a stupid "technology", as shown.
Always false positives. An AV should only report a true known virus.

It might help more if the final exe has its Version Information fields all filled out in the compiler options, I noticed this on a friends computer when I was showing him 2 programs I had written in PB and his anti-virus removed one of them, and the one that was removed did not have these fields filled out as it was not yet finished. He has also been using another one of my PB programs for a couple of years now, also with the version info filled, and it has never been removed and is also set to run on windows start up.

It might help more if the final exe has its Version Information fields all filled out in the compiler options

That does indeed make a difference with some AV, as does applying a digital signature.