blindfingers Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 It would have made more sense if I could have responded to http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=18973 but since I'm not old enough yet, I started a new topic. ApnStub is associated with Ask.com toolbar. I understand the need to find sources of income to fund programs. I don't mind deselecting the install option for these nuisance software programs if it helps keep the program alive, but I prefer to contribute directly. While I realize my contributions alone would be insufficient, I went to the ImgBurn website to contribute to this project because I want to keep it alive and perhaps help it avoid the need to resort to nuisance install advertising support. When I arrived, I noticed a newer version was available; so, I tried to install it, only to find that I was too late. As I said, I don't mind deselecting third party installs, but I do mind when those third party installs try to access the internet prior to my deciding whether or not they will be installed. During the installation of ImgBurn, my security software alerted me that ApnStub.exe was trying to access the internet. Obviously, I denied it access. the ImgBurn installation dialogue box never appeared. I checked running processes and the setup program was running, but no dialogue box. I killed the process and tried again. Same results. Though this time I received an error message indicating there was an error opening a file for writing: AppData\Local\Temp\ApnStub.exe; so, I checked this folder. I found the executables. If fact, I found AskSLib.dll and ApnIC.dll that were evidently downloaded to my PC without even asking. There are log files that appear to confirm this. Perhaps these files are included in the ImgBurn setup, but if not, I can only assume they worked around my firewall because they used http to download the files - not a very comforting thought. Is it possible to get a version of the install that does not include the Ask.com toolbar, or that doesn't require that I allow it internet access before I've had a chance to decide whether or not it will be installed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIGHTNING UK! Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Sorry, no. There's only one version of the installer. Internet access shouldn't be required for the installer to work. It works ok on PCs with no actual internet connection. If your firewall blocks the ApnStub.exe in a weird way (not returning control to it properly) then that'll cause the installer to hang (because it's waiting for ApnStub to terminate) - that's out of my hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindfingers Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Sorry, no. There's only one version of the installer. Internet access shouldn't be required for the installer to work. It works ok on PCs with no actual internet connection. If your firewall blocks the ApnStub.exe in a weird way (not returning control to it properly) then that'll cause the installer to hang (because it's waiting for ApnStub to terminate) - that's out of my hands. When prompted to allow or deny internet access, I click deny. Evidently the ApnStub.exe can detect whether or not there is a connection to the internet. If there isn't one, I guess it steps out of the way and let's ImgBurn install. If there is one, I guess it blindly waits for a response that it will never get - well, at the least, it's more patient than I am, so it waits until I kill the process. I did find a workaround. While inconvenient, it will do for now. So, as is my habit, periodically, when I find I'm still using a particular program, I contribute to the effort. I will be doing so soon. Thanks for the software and thanks for taking the time to respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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