Error Code 1: Catching Exceptions and Creating Minidumps

 
If you’re having any type of problem with Panda Cloud Antivirus (a recent one we’re getting is the Error Code 1 while scanning) you can help us troubleshoot it by enabling exceptions and having Panda Cloud Antivirus create minidumps when it runs into a problem.

You can enable exceptions easily by creating the following registry key:
   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPanda SecurityPanda Service HostExceptions]
   "CreateMiniDump"=dword:00000001
   "ToMessageBox"=dword:00000001

For those less familiar with manipulating the Windows Registry you can simply download and execute the following Exceptions.reg file which will automatically make the change in the Registry for you:
Enable Exceptions

Once enabled, any exception caught will be shown to you in popup windows similar to the following ones:

If this happens, you can find the minidump in the following locations:

• XP: c:documents and settingsall usersProgram datapanda securitypanda cloud antivirus
• Vista: c:program datapanda securitypanda cloud antivirus

Simply compress (in a ZIP or similar) the minidump and send it to us. We have enabled an FTP account where these can be uploaded to.
FTP Server: 212.8.79.111
Username: betatester
Password: d8PvVVdTQzWv

Don’t forget to drop us a note at http://www.cloudantivirus.com/forum if you do upload a minidump so we can provide you with an answer or fix after we analyze your upload.

Again thanks to all that are helping us improve Panda Cloud Antivirus !

 

CloudAV Standalone Uninstaller

Some users upgrading from Beta1 to Beta2 version have come across problems during the uninstall/reinstall upgrade procedure. In order to try to make things easier on users we have created an uninstaller standalone application for Panda Cloud Antivirus.

IMPORTANT: only use this generic uninstaller on PCs with Panda Cloud Antivirus. If this uninstaller is executed on PCs with other Panda products (Panda Antivirus Pro, Panda Internet Security, etc.) it will have negative effects and will leave the PC in an unstable state.

Simply download and execute the uninstaller in the following ZIP file:
Download Cloud Antivirus Uninstaller

If you’re still having problems with an uninstall procedure and would like the manual instructions feel free to contact us at the Technical Support Forum (http://www.cloudantivirus.com/forum).

Notification popup of Beta period

Some Beta1 users have misunderstood the popup message that was recently shown by Panda Cloud Antivirus, announcing the availability of the Beta2 version.

The feedback we received is that some users thought the software was going to stop being free. I wanted to post this to clarify any confusions that might have been created by this notification.

This notification is merely announcing the availability of the Beta2 version. Some considerations to take into account during the beta period:

• As soon as a new Beta version is announced (Beta2, Beta3, etc.) the previous Beta version will stop connecting to Collective Intelligence and updating its cache.
• Users can of course download the new Beta version for free.
• After the Beta period is over and Panda Cloud Antivirus version 1.0 is released it will continue being free without any loss of functionality whatsoever.

Sorry if this notification has caused any confusion.

Known Issue with Beta2 Synchronous & Background Scan

We have received some comments and reports from Beta2 users of version 0.08.82 of slowness of their PCs and lots of hard drive I/O activity from PSANHost.exe.

We are tracing this problem back to an interaction of the new synchronous OnAccess cloud-scan with the BackgroundScan. This interaction seems as it could be the source of the slowness of the system even though we continue investigating it. Basically this occurs under certain circumstances when both scans are consuming the same resource. We’re in the process of redesigning these two scan tasks so they are optimized in the use of critical system resources to avoid simultaneous accesses to common resources.

As a workaround you can disable the BackgroundScan altogether. Disabling this task does not compromise the security level of the PC as the OnAccess scan guarantess the protection of the machine. If you apply this workaround simply make sure to run an OnDemand scan periodically to ensure there are no inactive & latent malicious files in the drive.

To disable the BackgroundScan simply create the following registry entry and reboot the PC:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPanda SecurityPanda Service Host]
"BackgroundDisabled"="-"

If you are not used to playing around with the registry, simply download and execute the .REG file in the following file:
http://blog.cloudantivirus.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/background_disabled.zip

As we continue investigating this problem, if you are affected by this problem and are able to send us debug information please get in touch with us. Thanks again to everybody for your help 🙂

Cloud Antivirus Beta2 Under Windows 7

We’ve received quite a lot of reports lately from people who have managed to install Panda Cloud Antivirus Beta2 under Windows 7 based on a post from the DownloadSquad.

Basically the method used to install Cloud Antivirus Beta2 under Windows 7 consists of uncompressing the CloudAntivirus.exe installer file using WinRAR, 7-zip or any other capable un-compressor and setting the compatibility mode of the SETUP.EXE to Vista.

You may then run the installer by double-clicking on SETUP.EXE and this will install Cloud Antivirus Beta2 happily on a Windows 7 system.

During some quick testing both the on-access and the on-demand scanner seem to work normally.

However please be advised that Cloud Antivirus Beta2 has not yet been certified by our QA team and therefore is not fully Windows 7 compatible. We’re still working on Beta3 which will be fully compatible on both 32 and 64 bits Windows 7.