I explained that this is only a FALSE POSITIVE some time ago, but now I want to replicate it, because it seems that many antivirus are always more paranoid and their heuristic scan is very aggressive, with the result of many false positive.

No, no trojans or any other kind of malware is contained in archives of our software, how it is demonstrated by the following logos:

"100% clean - no spyware, no adware, no viruses" by Softpedia

"Safe to install" certified by FindMySoft.com

that can be found in our Download page.

The warning from the antivirus is a false-positive, due to fact that CyberInstaller uses UPX to compress the size of the executables with a real time decompression in memory. This tool is often used by the most of the malware and so the heuristic scan from many antivirus find the UPX signature and "thinks" that the archive is malware. But it’s not!

I’m sorry if this has caused troubles. We are planning not to compress our software with UPX anymore in future releases, because of these false-positives that sometimes occur.

Click here to watch the tutorial (duration: about 4 minutes)

With this new series of video tutorials I hope to make the use of CIS even more easier and immediate. If you have suggestions about new tutorials or about how to improve old ones let me know.

Have a nice watching!

CyberInstaller Suite is a packetization and installation software, oriented to every kind of developer. Thus, it can be applied to any language or development environment (.Net, C++, C#, Delphi, Java, PHP, Visual Basic, etc.) and can be used either by the occasional programmer (free version), or by the professional developer (registered version).

The Free version is completely free of charge and allows you to distribute your own software in the easiest and cheapest possible way. CyberInstaller Suite (CIS) highlights itself from other installers for being very easy to use and for the many features and the great versatility offered.

Brand new 2009 version now available!! (2009/05/31)
After nearly a year from the last update, the 2009 version is finally out. It supports 64 bit (x64) systems even with more than 4 GB of RAM. The main news is software prerequirements, that offer the possibility to be downloaded on the fly during the installation process or embedded into the package. This and other functionalities are waiting for you!.

Available on SilverCyberTech official site all the details you may need to know, as complete list of all fixed bugs and of all added features.

Resources:
download page
full list of news and fixed bugs
details about registered licenses and price list
community forum

I hope that this new version, the first one to really support Windows Vista and 64 bit systems, that adds new and important functionalities as software prerequirements, will be appreciated and may help you to improve your developers experience during your software distribution and packetization.

Let’s see the most interesting changes in CIS graphic user interface (screenshots in Italian, but final version available in English too):

1) thumbnail in task-bar even when application is minimized:

2) supported 3D tab applications switching:

3) fonts are system ones, varying upon Windows version installed. Eg.: for XP system font was Tahoma 8, while Vista uses the Segoe UI 9 (also size changes):

4) like fonts, messageboxes suit the Windows version in use:

5) again, dialog windows (Open, Save, etc.) depends on current Windows version (new functionalities under Vista):

6) tree-views are Vista-style under this Windows version:

7) lists appear with the new Vista graphic look:

These and other features will make CIS 2009 fully integrate in Vista and in the next Windows 7, thanks to full compatibility with the graphic API used by the new Microsoft operating systems.

For more advanced functionalities of CIS 2009 more articles will follow, please stay on-line!

Summing up, because many of you have asked me, here is the hardware configuration:

Case: Antex Twelve Hundred
Power suppl: Antex SG-650 da 650 W (80 Plus Bronze certification)
Motherboard: Intel Desktop Board DP45SB ATX
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 9550
RAM: 8 GB DDR3 1.333 MHz, Kingston
Hdd 1: WD VelociRaptor 150 GB (10.000 rpm)
Hdd 2: WD Caviar Black 1 TB (7.200 rpm)
GPU: AMD Radeon Sapphire HD 4870-780 Toxic, 512 MB RAM GDDR5 (overclock to 820 MHz for clock and 1200 MHz for memory) 
Burning ROM: CD/DVD: Plextor PX-800A 
CD/DVD player: Samsung SH-D163B
Keyboard and mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3200 Laser
Operating system: Windows Vista 64 Ultimate

I must admit (once again!) that working with such a machine is really satisfying, even the most heavy job is quickly accomplished and the PC never seems to choke. And Vista 64 simply flies…

Case: Antex Twelve Hundred
Power supply: Antex SG-650 da 650 W (80 Plus Bronze certification)
Mother board: Intel Desktop Board DP45SB ATX
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad 9550
RAM: 8 GB DDR3 1.333 MHz, Kingston
Hdd 1: WD VelociRaptor 150 GB (10.000 rpm)
Hdd 2: WD Caviar Black 1 TB (7.200 rpm)
GPU: AMD Radeon Sapphire HD 4870-780 Toxic, 512 MB RAM GDDR5 (overclock at 780 MHz for clock and 1000 MHz for memory) 
CD/DVD burner: Plextor PX-800A
CD/DVD reader: Samsung SH-D163B
Keyboard and mouse: Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3200 Laser
Operating system: Windows Vista 64 Ultimate

Now finally I should be able to work quickly, smoothly and with the last software tecnology at proper speed. I look forward to receiving my brand new PC!!

While Windows 7 gets prepared for its first public release at the PDC at the end of October, rumors talk about it more and more and a clear revolution is rising, starting from the inside but that keeps a back-compatibility with Windows Vista for drivers and applications.

CPU technological evolution push toward the advanced multi-core direction, that will result in 32 simultaneous cores, a little too much for the home based operations that are targeted by Windows 7. The new Microsoft OS will have to support always more cores and to do that it needs an "inner revolution". […]

Complete article here.

My opinion: it’s the very right moment to buy a quad core, now they cost really a little, compared to the features they offer (I suggest the new Q9xxx series, eg.: Q9450, Q9550, Q9650, bades on Penryn: 12 MB L2 cache, 1333 fsb, 45 nm).

CyberTaskTimer is a little freeware utility whose only target is to monitor any application is used, timing its using time. At system start-up it tasks place near the Windows clock (tray area) and it activates immediately.

Its user graphic interface (GUI) is simply made of two lists. One, the "applications log", is the history of all the used applications (or, more precisely, of all the windows brought to front, whose application they belong to will be automatically detected by CyberTaskTimer), reporting the executable file, title, date, start-up time and time of use. Two, the "statistics", activated by clicking on the same name tab, shows a classification of the most used applications, summing up the using times of all the windows belonging to the same application (so the using time will be grouped by application) and a chart of the most 10 used applications.

CyberTaskTimer may be also used to log all applications run on your own computer and even more, not only the applications, but all the windows that have been showed (even the screensaver and the browsed web-sites). This way you can detect improper use of your system/account and prohibited use of the account where CyberTaskTimer is installed to.

A note: CyberTaskTimer is able to deactivate itself automatically when current session is terminated, so not only when current user get disconnected from Windows, but even when he locks the session or uses the fast-user-change mode of Windows XP and above (<WIN> + <L> to activate it); the same when the screensaver activates. This way only the real use of the PC will be timed and not the inactivity time.

IMPORTANT: at any time you can deactivate CyberTaskTimer by clicking with right mouse button on its tray-icon, that will show up the control menu. A double click on the tray-icon will open up its main window.

PRIVACY NOTES:
CyberTaskTimer does not contain any malware at all and does not communicates in any way to any Internet server or in any other way.
The created database is placed in user Documents (in sub-folder "CyberTaskTimer", with "dat" extension, text-plain) and everything occurs hiding nothing to the user.

If you have any tips, implementation requests, or bug-reporting, please contact SilverCyberTech at the following email address: info@silvercybertech.com

The developing team will be happy to listen to you!

- STEP 4 "Data": add your files to the packages, with the file .vbs you want to be executed

- STEP 8 "External Applications": add an external application in the list "Applications to be executed AFTER installation", by clicking on the proper "Add" button

- In the window that will appear, insert the followings parameters:

Description: VBS description
Local path: cmd.exe
Embed into package: NO
Startup folder: |$SystemPath$|
Command line parameters: /c "|$AppPath$|\filename.vbs" (do not forget quotes!)
Execution mode: syncronous
User confirmation: your choice

That’s all: if everything is correct, at the end of the installation the vbs file added to the package (in the example called "filename.vbs") will be directly executed.

I write all the English strings by myself, as soon as I need them, the revisor should just read and correct them, if necessary, in perfect English language. That’s all! So it’s not an hard work, especially if done since now, when strings are a few.

Thanks in advance for the help!

If CyberInstaller is now a revolution, thanks to its proprietary powerful engine, CI NG will be… revolution inside revolution.

…coming soon…

We can see above the Properties window of the just compiled executable of CING. Below the current main window… I bet there’s quite a lot to work about it!

Stay tuned.

CyberInstaller Suite 2008 1.2 (Studio 5.20.5497, CIPEW 2.10.321, Installer 4.960, Extractor 4.00.367, Updater 2.10.343).

It is possible to download the update from SilverCyberTech site or simply by CISUpdater, tool that makes the update process automatic and transparent.

NOTE: starting Studio with the "check updates on start" option enabled, if an active connection is detected, CISUpdater will inform you about updates availability automatically.

On SilverCyberTech you will find any information you may want to look for, including the complete list of fixed bugs and all the added features, and naturally the download page.

Resources:
download page
complete list of news and bugs fixed
details about purchasing the registered licenses
forum to talk about the new version and issues

I am looking forward to receiving your feedback and I stay at your disposal for any question. Have a nice work with CyberInstaller Suite 2008 1.2!

I don’t know how long it will stay there - a year relying upon what the editor says - but it certainly is something good for CIS and it demonstrates the effort of SilverCyberTech towards its software and the success that this software is gaining abroad.

In fact if CIS downloads from BrotherSoft and other shareware sites weren’t meaningful numbers, I don’t know if this result could be achieved in such a short time.
So… thanks to all of you, really.

A user, on a blog, has reported that his anti-virus, F-Secure, has warned that CyberInstaller Suite was an insecure software, probably carrying a trojan.

It has been years since CyberInstaller Suite was not reported as carrying a virus and, fortunately, other users in the same blog answered that F-Secure itself did not report anything to them.

So, how to unveil this mystery? It’ll be soon explained.

As often occurs for other prize-winning professional software (produced by Microsoft, Skype and even anti-malware as Spybot-Search&Destroy), it’s just a FALSE POSITIVE, that is an erroneous report from the anti-virus that identifies a virus in a completely un-harmful application. Probably antivirus software that reports this false positive has the heuristic scan turned on, option that applies more in depth scans but, to identify still unknown viruses, may report even many false positives.

I have to say that the CyberInstaller Suite module recognized as a trojan is CIPEW, that is the CyberInstaller Portable Executable Wrapper, that is the wrapper for the Setup.exe executable. Such wrapper uses advanced techniques to embed the executable and decompress it on-the-fly (it is necessary to execute some security controls over the serial numbers if used in the installation package) and probably is identified as "abnormal" from the heuristic scan of some anti-viruses. Another module that can cause a false positive, at least some versions ago, was CISUpdater, probably because it connects to SilverCyberTech site searching for updates (in a totally legal and user-aware way!).

In addition to this, all modules of CyberInstaller Suite are compressed with UPX, an utility to compress executables that does not only reduce their size without slowing down their loading (they are decompressed on-the-fly when executed in a nearly real-time mode), but also crypts all their content making it very difficult to hack and disassembling them. This utility is often used by virus-writers for these very reasons to compress their viruses and because of this an executable carrying the UPX signature is often identified as "abnormal" from the heuristic scan of a paranoid antivirus.

Finally, CyberInstaller Suite has no malware in it at all, no worms, no trojans, no dialers, no nothing. It is perfectly clean, as confirmed by the Softpedia award: "100% Clean, no spyware, no adware, no viruses".

Anyway, if you ever find false-positives with your antivirus, please contact me: I’ll try to recompile the module so that no false-positive will be reported anymore!

1. log-in with the account created during the installation of Vista
2. from Start menu, go to "All programs", "Accessories"
3. click with right mouse button on "Command prompt" then choose "Run as administrator"
4. click on "Allow" from ConsentUI prompt
5. in the window that will open-up, write "regedit" and press <enter>
6. in RegEdit, go to key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WinodwsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
7. add a new key at that level, calling it "SpecialAccounts"
8. in "SpecialAccounts" just created key, create a sub-key calling it "UserList"
9. now the path is: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
10. in "UserList" just created key, create a new DWORD value (32 bit) calling it "Administrator" and set it a value of "1"
11. from command prompt input: “net user Administrator /Active:yes”
12. reboot system
13. now it is possible to log with Administrator account with maximum root rights

I haven’t verified this instructions personally, but they seem to work properly. However, in my opinion, the Windows Vista protection system, also known as User Access Control (UAC), if used together with the limitations to user account rights, even for the administrative users, should not be disable, if you don’t want a reduced system security and potential more likely malicious attacks from installed application or from outer sources. [to be continued in a next article . . . ]

Anyway, some user feel the need to have full power over the system for their Administrator account, as in Windows 2000/XP, without being asked for confirmation or, worse, without that the system denies the execution of some critical operations. For this reason I’m giving you this information, that slightly touch the borderline with "hacking" and thus are to be executed at your own risk.

I think it was necessary to make these considerations. And to strongly hilight my opinion that disabling UAC is the worst thing a Vista user could do…

And now, I can wish you all a happy Vista experience!

In fact, if sapi.dll file is placed in "|$CommonPath$|\Microsoft Shared\Speech" (where "|$CommandPath$|" is likely something similar to C:\Program Files\Common), CyberInstaller Studio, during the dependencies research, will correctly find it in that very path and, always correctly, will try to install it on the destination system placing it in that very path too.

Unfortunately, "correctly" doing so, it won’t be possible to register the sapi library (not only CyberInstaller, but even the RegSvr32 command will fail) and this will occur in a unsuccessful installation.

The solution is to move the destination folder for the sapi.dll file, setting it to System32 (CIS pattern "|$SystemPath$|"). this way the library will be correctly registered and the installation accomplished successfully.

NOTE: to change the destination folder of a file/component in a CyberInstaller Studio project neither having to remove then re-add the file, nor editing the file installation properties (double click on the file or click on "Edit" button, step 6), just click with the right mouse button on the file (or on the group of selected files), click on the item "Move into…" from the pop-up menu that will appear and select the destination folder from the sub-menu. This way allows to change the destination folder to more than one file at once.

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″ standalone=”yes”?>
<assembly xmlns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1″ manifestVersion=”1.0″>
<assemblyIdentity version=”1.0.0.0″ processorArchitecture=”X86″ name=”isVista” type=”win32″/>
      <trustInfo xmlns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v2″>
         <security>
               <requestedPrivileges>
                   <requestedExecutionLevel
                       level=”requireAdministrator”/>
               </requestedPrivileges>
         </security>
      </trustInfo>
  </assembly>

This will automatically elevate the executable rights, but the user will be prompted for an administrator password (if he does not belong to the Administrators group).

An already compiled file can be found here. As all manifest files, it must be placed in the same folder of the .exe file and renamed in the following way:

<executable name>.exe.manifest

If you do not want the user to see the manifest file, it is possible to use MT (a Microsoft utility downloadable from here) to embed the manifest inside the executable itself. With this tool you can write the following line from the command prompt. Eg. supposing you have a test.exe file and a test.ext.manifest file you can write:

mt.exe -manifest “test.exe.manifest” -outputresource:”test.exe”

This way you will obtain a test.exe file with the manifest file embedded in it. The user will see the executable file only and he’ll just have to run it to execute the application with administrative rights (a password will be asked, of course).

More information here.

Delphi 2007, supports all the advanced and hot features of Microsoft Windows Vista Aero (natively and without adding a single line of code), but some VCL controls are not rendered correctly if placed in the transparent window area.

Both these issues are easily resolved by code-setting to TRUE the "DoubleBuffered" property of the parent control, property made available from Delphi 2005. In fact, the issues in object take place because their DoubleBuffered property is False by default and furthermore such property is not reachable from the ObjectInspector, because it’s not marked as Published.

Because of this limitation, it would be much easier an automatic way to set to True all the DoubleBuffered properties of all controls that support it, without having to manually write a bunch of code lines for each control of our form (and for the form itself, do not forget!).

The Delphi team has run in your help, writing the following code that solve all the mentioned issues:

procedure TFormMain.DoubleBufferAll();
var
  i: Integer;
begin
  try
    Self.DoubleBuffered := True;
    for i := 0 to Self.ComponentCount - 1 do begin
      if Self.Components[i] is TWinControl then begin
        TWinControl(Self.Components[i]).DoubleBuffered := True;
      end;
    end;
  except
    on E:Exception do begin
      //
    end;
  end;
end;

Just call this new method (declared as private in the Private section of TFormMain class) in the OnCreate method of the form, and you are done!

A little side effect to take into consideration: with Turbo Delphi 2006 under WinXP with themes activated, the TPageControl and TTabControl are not rendered correctly: the background does not appear as gradient. The solution is simply to set their DoubleBuffered property to False.

Here is the list of the ActiveX that generate the issue:

• msflxgrd.ocx
• comdlg32.ocx
• msbind.dll
• mswinsck.ocx
• msderun.dll
• msinet.ocx
• mswinsck.ocx
• mscomctl.ocx
• msdatlst.ocx
• msflxgrd.ocx
• msmask32.ocx
• tabctl32.ocx
• mscomm32.ocx
• msdbrptr.dll
• msdatgrd.ocx
• mscomct2.ocx
• mshflxgd.ocx
• msadodc.ocx
• msvbvm60.dll
• olepro32.dll
• comcat.dll
• msstdfmt.dll

So, how can we use these components in our applications running under Windows Vista? Easier than you thought: just unregister the component through the command:

RegSvr32 /u <file name>

Then simply register the same components again:

RegSvr32 <file name>

Thus, for each component you wish to use, you have to unregister it before, then register it immediately after. Eg., for "msflxgrd.ocx" component, just write this in the command line prompt (choose "Run as Administrator" from the pop-up menu on the Command Prompt link):

regsvr32 /u /s msflxgrd.ocx
regsvr32 /s msflxgrd.ocx

To make things easier for you, I prepared a batch file (.bat) that will do the dirty job for you, for every component of the list. The file can be downloaded here.

And to make things even much more easier, you can use CyberInstaller Suite 2008, that can easily manage package distribution on Windows Vista (and on every else Windows version). Use it and you’ll never have to worry about anything!

I have to explain why I was missing for so much time. I was firstly enjoying the power of Blogger, but when I moved to a new hosting for my site I wanted to host the blog itself, and the troubles began… I fight against the complexity of that blogging platform, but soon I gave up and I looked for another blogging platform. When I met WordPress, I totally fell in love with it! I downloaded the latest version, in Italian, then I installed it on my brand new hosting space and started to blog! I transferred all the old (Italian) posts to the new blog, but the old and glorious English were gone… So I had firstly to setup-up my new server, new site and especially to finish up the new version of my software, CyberInstaller Suite, in both languages Italian and English. And finally, now that everything is working fine (even the new official forum), I just finished installing and setting-up this brand new English blog, powered by the great WordPress.

With some more time I’ll translated all the Italian posts in English and I’ll post new articles as well, of course. So, if you are interested in, start commenting my articles, or… I’ll get very sad! And sorry me if my English is far from being perfect!