Doesn't really seem like .NET problem, but still... need your insight

[Tat]

Hello,

I have a weird show stopper here.

I created a Windows application (.NET 1.1). My dev. machine is not hooked up
to the Internet, neither it has firewall.

I installed the app on a different machine with Internet connection and
Norton Security Family Edition 2001.

Whenever I start the application, my Firewall prompts me with message that
my application tries to access the Internet (port 80, some_site_address.com,
IP X.X.X.X). I didn't post the url and the ip because of considerations that
I don't want to put it in the public news groups. It happens only before the
main menu shows, then I block

The program does not access the Internet at all. no code, and no need to
begin with.

I checked that url and the company my program is "trying to access" and they
do SSL and some security stuff and they look very reputable.

I realize that it might be not really a .NET issue. But if somebody could
recommend in which direction to dig, I will really appreciate it.

Thanks a lot and happy coding.

Tat

[Ken Dopierala Jr.]

Hi Tat,

Does your app use any third party controls? Off the top of my head that is
the only thing I can think of. A way to possibly narrow this down is put
some message boxes in the app to try to determine where the app tries to hit
the internet. Also, you might want to try creating an extremely basic app,
like a blank form, no code, no controls. See if that sets off Norton. If
it does, maybe there is some compatibility problem there. Could be the
combination or Norton, your OS, and the patches/service packs you have
applied. But if the simple app works then we can narrow it down to whatever
is in your real app. Good luck! Ken.

--
Ken Dopierala Jr.
For great ASP.Net web hosting try:
http://www.webhost4life.com/default.asp?refid=Spinlight
If you sign up under me and need help, email me.

"Tat" <th**************************@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Dd*********************@news20.bellglobal.com ...

Hello,

I have a weird show stopper here.

I created a Windows application (.NET 1.1). My dev. machine is not hooked up to the Internet, neither it has firewall.

I installed the app on a different machine with Internet connection and
Norton Security Family Edition 2001.

Whenever I start the application, my Firewall prompts me with message that
my application tries to access the Internet (port 80, some_site_address.com, IP X.X.X.X). I didn't post the url and the ip because of considerations that I don't want to put it in the public news groups. It happens only before the main menu shows, then I block

The program does not access the Internet at all. no code, and no need to
begin with.

I checked that url and the company my program is "trying to access" and they do SSL and some security stuff and they look very reputable.

I realize that it might be not really a .NET issue. But if somebody could
recommend in which direction to dig, I will really appreciate it.

Thanks a lot and happy coding.

Tat

[Tat]

Thanks Ken,

Yes, I actually started suspecting a third-party control. I compiled the
version of app with license key removed from the code. What I have now is
one version consistently does it later at a certain point in the
application, the other - right before it starts.

Now, the control is from very reputable company. I used their products for
year and now I am with .NET version of it. I realize there could still be a
problem.

But I wonder if you can tell me please... why is it trying to access a
particular url? This is something I don't get. I just don't understand why
it got to be that particular web site; and why it would access Internet to
begin with, if it's as you (probably correctly) said that's third-party
control.

I am going to stick the message boxes with the number of the line of the
code everywhere.

Thank you very much again.

Tat
"Tat" <th**************************@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Dd*********************@news20.bellglobal.com ...

Hello,

I have a weird show stopper here.

I created a Windows application (.NET 1.1). My dev. machine is not hooked up to the Internet, neither it has firewall.

I installed the app on a different machine with Internet connection and
Norton Security Family Edition 2001.

Whenever I start the application, my Firewall prompts me with message that
my application tries to access the Internet (port 80, some_site_address.com, IP X.X.X.X). I didn't post the url and the ip because of considerations that I don't want to put it in the public news groups. It happens only before the main menu shows, then I block

The program does not access the Internet at all. no code, and no need to
begin with.

I checked that url and the company my program is "trying to access" and they do SSL and some security stuff and they look very reputable.

I realize that it might be not really a .NET issue. But if somebody could
recommend in which direction to dig, I will really appreciate it.

Thanks a lot and happy coding.

Tat

[Ken Dopierala Jr.]

Hi Tat,

If it is the 3rd party control then there could be a lot of reasons. They
might be tracking how many times their control is used for each license by
IP address (for either statistics or to catch piracy), or if the control
uses data that changes it could be checking for updates, and etc.

To see what it is doing you can give this software a spin:
http://www.gjpsoft.com/UltraNetSniffer/ It comes with a 14 day free trial.
You'll want to shut down Norton and then fire this up and watch port 80 when
you run your program. That will show you the request it is making and what
information it is sending to this site. Note that if the site it is going
to is https: instead of http: then the data would be encrypted and you won't
get to see much.

If you can confirm that it is the 3rd party control then you might want to
contact the vendor, tell them about the Norton problem, and see if they can
give you a work around. Good luck! Ken.

--
Ken Dopierala Jr.
For great ASP.Net web hosting try:
http://www.webhost4life.com/default.asp?refid=Spinlight
If you sign up under me and need help, email me.

"Tat" <th**************************@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Ou*********************@news20.bellglobal.com ...

Thanks Ken,

Yes, I actually started suspecting a third-party control. I compiled the
version of app with license key removed from the code. What I have now is
one version consistently does it later at a certain point in the
application, the other - right before it starts.

Now, the control is from very reputable company. I used their products for
year and now I am with .NET version of it. I realize there could still be a problem.

But I wonder if you can tell me please... why is it trying to access a
particular url? This is something I don't get. I just don't understand why
it got to be that particular web site; and why it would access Internet to
begin with, if it's as you (probably correctly) said that's third-party
control.

I am going to stick the message boxes with the number of the line of the
code everywhere.

Thank you very much again.

Tat
"Tat" <th**************************@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Dd*********************@news20.bellglobal.com ...

Hello,

I have a weird show stopper here.

I created a Windows application (.NET 1.1). My dev. machine is not hooked

up

to the Internet, neither it has firewall.

I installed the app on a different machine with Internet connection and
Norton Security Family Edition 2001.

Whenever I start the application, my Firewall prompts me with message

that my application tries to access the Internet (port 80,

some_site_address.com,

IP X.X.X.X). I didn't post the url and the ip because of considerations

that

I don't want to put it in the public news groups. It happens only before

the

main menu shows, then I block

The program does not access the Internet at all. no code, and no need to
begin with.

I checked that url and the company my program is "trying to access" and

they

do SSL and some security stuff and they look very reputable.

I realize that it might be not really a .NET issue. But if somebody could recommend in which direction to dig, I will really appreciate it.

Thanks a lot and happy coding.

Tat

[Tat]

Hi Ken,
Thanks a lot.
I am 100% positive it's a third-party control as I created exact version of
application with the only difference that it doesn't use or references that
control.
Lo and behold! No problem.
It is http, not https.
I contacted them and I am waiting for their answer. It's a reputable
company, and I paid big bucks for that control. The users of my program
wouldn't like the program's behavior for sure. I don't see why I have to go
through them checking me if I already paid for control; I have a valid
license.
Such a headache.
Thanks again that you helped me to dig in the right direction.
Happy coding,
Tat