Observed issues

[Dch48 0]

I just recently installed OA free to test it again. I had problems with previous versions but that was a while ago. I have observed a few issues that I feel should be addressed.

1. Extremely long boot time after install:

I am on XP Pro SP3 and I also run the latest Avast free AV. Google Chrome is my default browser but IE8 is also present and fully updated. After installing OA and telling it to trust everything already on the machine, it ran the safety check which btw, seemed interminable. I then rebooted and it took noticeably longer to hit the welcome screen and my desktop picture. It then took at least two more minutes for the taskbar to show and at least another minute before all the icons were showing. I put exclusions for Avast in OA and vice versa and rebooted with the same result. A perusal of old postings suggested a workaround of disabling the OA Helper service so I shut down OA, disabled that service and voila!, my bootup was back to normal. That "fix" was posted a very long time ago so I'm surprised the issue still exists. The program functions normally without that service running.

2. Issues playing World of Warcraft:

If the Firewall is enabled, I get a lot of graphics stuttering in the game while moving from place to place. Disabling the Firewall while in game removes the issue completely.

3. Restarting the program after shutting it down:

If I choose to "Close and Shutdown Online Armor" from the tray icon, I can then not restart it. The only way to get it working again is with a reboot. Maybe this is a result of disabling the Helper Service?

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to remove OA and go back to just using the XP firewall or not. I like the security features and the much better usability of a HIPS containing application compared to other offerings I've used like Comodo. The issues I have encountered give me reasons to think about not using OA however.

[catprincess 19]

Hi Dch48,

1. Extremely long boot time after install:

I am on XP Pro SP3 and I also run the latest Avast free AV. Google Chrome is my default browser but IE8 is also present and fully updated. After installing OA and telling it to trust everything already on the machine, it ran the safety check which btw, seemed interminable. I then rebooted and it took noticeably longer to hit the welcome screen and my desktop picture. It then took at least two more minutes for the taskbar to show and at least another minute before all the icons were showing. I put exclusions for Avast in OA and vice versa and rebooted with the same result. A perusal of old postings suggested a workaround of disabling the OA Helper service so I shut down OA, disabled that service and voila!, my bootup was back to normal. That "fix" was posted a very long time ago so I'm surprised the issue still exists. The program functions normally without that service running.

This has been known to occur where Chrome is the default browser. If for example, IE8 is set as default browser, the issue will most likely disappear.

3. Restarting the program after shutting it down:

If I choose to "Close and Shutdown Online Armor" from the tray icon, I can then not restart it. The only way to get it working again is with a reboot. Maybe this is a result of disabling the Helper Service?

Yes, this is one of the functions of oacat.exe.

[Dch48 0]

Yes, making IE the default browser removes the problem but it really seems strange that the boot time issue has been known about in all versions of the program, not just the free one, for a long time and it still has not been fixed.