WD 1592 vs 1593 - reasons to upgrade?

[Guest]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bottom line (at the top ^_^):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does anyone know/recall what changes were made from WD 1592 to WD 1593
and/or whether there is any compelling reason to upgrade?

(...and is there a version history somewhere that I haven't found?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Complicated (?), boring (?), unnecessary (?) details:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been running WD 1592 (released Oct 23, 2006) since Jan 3, 2007 after
a previous Beta (WD, or maybe Windows AntiSpyware?) expired Dec 31, 2006. I
installed WD 1592 from an installation file I had downloaded Nov 5, 2006, but
I had not checked for a more recent version before I installed it, or I would
have discovered that WD 1593 was released Nov 8, 2006 (only 3 days after I
downloaded WD 1592).

It seems that WD 1592 has been working fine, scans properly, provides Real
Time Protection, continues to properly update its definitions, etc., etc
E.g., today the Help > About Windows Defender info is as follows:

Windows Defender Version: 1.1.1592.0
Engine Version: 1.1.2803.0
Definition Version: 1.21.2927.3 <<<(released Aug 29, 2007)
Product ID: 81664-829-7829504-04066

However, automatic updates (or when I manually check for updates) from
within WD 1592 only find newer definition versions, and have never indicated
a newer version of WD (i.e., v1593) is available.

It appears that nearly 10 months after its release on Nov 8 2006, WD 1593 is
still the most current version (although at various times I have downloaded 3
slightly different installation files released Nov 8, 2006, Mar 13, 2007, and
May 23, 2007, all 3 labeled as v1593 -- I assume these must reflect slight
tweaks to the installation process rather than a WD version change).

However, I haven't been able to locate ANY information about changes from WD
1592 to WD 1593. For example, none of the webpages that describe WD (FAQs,
Release Notes, etc) have even been updated since Oct 23, 2006, when WD 1592
was released. (Also, WD 1592 wasn't out very long before WD 1593 was
released (Oct 23 - Nov 8, 2006, about 2 1/2 weeks), so it would seem there
might have been little change.)

Installation instructions on the download page for WD 1593 (as released Nov
8, 2006 and Mar 13, 2007) state that, "If you have version 1.1.1592.0, you
must first manually uninstall Windows Defender before you can install this
newer version." (This statement is NOT included on the current download page
for WD 1593, released May 23, 2007.) Since v1592 seems to be working fine,
and every software install/uninstall carries the risk of additional
complications, clutter in the registry and on the HDD, etc., I have postponed
a change to v1593.

....so, all the above is a rather detailed and somewhat complicated leadin to
my "bottom line" question:

Does anyone know/recall what changes were made from WD 1592 to WD 1593
and/or whether there is any compelling reason to upgrade?

(...and is there a version history somewhere that I haven't found?)

Thanks in advance for your help !!!

 

[Dave M]

You're really stretching my memory, but basically the reason for moving to
1593 had to do with enhanced sample submissions to Spynet along with the
upgrade. Unfortunately, the 1592 release - which had been current only for
a few weeks - required an un-install prior to going to 1593, and as far as
I know that's still required. This was the only release that ever made you
perform the un-install first, which was a distinct pain if you'd customized
Defender particularly as far as the exclusion list was concerned, or if you
were holding items in quarantine for later restoration, since those items
weren't retained across the uninstall/upgrade. So the only benefit of
going to 1593 really appeared to be as a benefit to Spynet... provided you
were actually a member.

Take a look at our UK "shadow" on PCReview for some additional detail from
Joe Faulhaber (MSFT). I think most of this info has aged off of the
Microsoft Defender forum although it's still here:
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-2938885.php

You're right 1593 is still the most current Defender version for XP and
that was only made available by manual validation/installation as an update
from the Defender download site. 1593 was not an automatic upgrade, but
that's a reference to the GUI version not to the scanning engine, of which
1.1.2803.0 is the most current. The engine was always automatically
downloaded along with the signatures during one of the past automatic
weekly definition update cycles, and there have been quite a few engine
versions over time.

The version history? I don't think Microsoft believes in them, other than
maybe what's in Bill Sanderson's memory. <g>
Possibly some people here can add more to this retrospective than I can
possibly hope to remember. But my bottom line is you probably don't really
need 1593. I've never seen much activity out of SpyNet and you haven't
noticed anything lacking thus far, so I'd say there are better things to
worry about. Then again, you might have a long weekend without much going
on...

 

[Bill Sanderson MVP]

Dave - FWIW, your recollection matches mine: The change was made to provide
the enhanced sample submission - I believe this was included in, maybe, the
Vista release, and the re-release was to bring parity to the product on both
platforms.

(and now I read down and see your note about my memory...LOL!)

--

 

[Guest]

Dave

Thanks so much for your prompt response. You obviously put some time and
thought into the matter, which I appreciate. You even included an additional
reason for postponing the upgrade that I had thought of 6 months ago but
since forgotten: the loss of one's exclusion list & quarantine with the
required uninstall of v1592 (though I haven't checked to see where that info
is stored -- if accessible, perhaps it could be copied and saved to re-insert
into the correct v1593 file/folder, registry, or other appropriate location
after installing v1593).

I reviewed the info from Joe Faulhaber (MSFT) at the PCReview link you
provided (i.e., http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-2938885.php) and
better understand the potential advantage of v1593, primarily to the whole WD
community. I'm all for that, as I'm part of that community, but it sounds
like I'm not at risk if I continue to postpone the upgrade until a more
convenient time.

Finally, if Bill Sanderson's memory is Microsoft's substitute for a version
history, then surely your memory must be, as well <g>. After all, that
PCReview discussion seems like a pretty obscure link for you to have come up
with ...but you remembered or found it somehow. Where would we be without
storytellers and narrative history??? <G>

Thanks again !!!

 

[Guest]

Bill-

Thanks for your prompt response, and your help to me and so many others I've
seen your responses to in this newsgroup. Seems like you and Dave must be
the "Collective Memory" substitute for a version history. As I already said
in my response to Dave, "Where would we be without storytellers and narrative
history??? <G>"

Thanks again !!!

 

[Dave M]

Thanks for the nice words. I don't know of a way to automatically
save/move the exclusion list across, and mine was pretty extensive...
including all my individual Outlook Express .dbx datastores for multiple
user accounts on this system. Fortunately, I had taken a number of screen
prints to capture and document them (just in case), and wound up
re-entering everything by again browsing to each of those locations
manually... yuck, what an ordeal.

 

[Bill Sanderson MVP]

Our human memory is of inestimable value, but fallable. We could have a
longer technologically based memory of events in these groups, but that is
limited, primarily because of reliability issues. So, in the end, the
technological falls back on the humans.

--

 

[Guest]

Dave -

Yeah, I've also gone the screen print route many times to save info I
couldn't access in file or text form, & it can be a real hassle! (FYI, I
like the freeware version of PrintKey v4.00 By Alfred Bolliger because I can
easily select a sizeable rectangle to get just the info I want rather than
the whole screen -- it's copyrighted 1998 but works fine on WinXP -- might
still be available on shareware/freeware sites, but I think last time I
checked I found v5.10 that I haven't yet tried, and his site now appears to
only list a 30-Day Trialware Printkey-Pro v1.04.)

Also FYI, in the past year I've bee using NirSoft's SysExporter to grab
data/text that is on-screen but can't be highlighted to copy & paste (e.g.,
error message popups), and that has worked better than screen prints in many
cases. However, there seem to be a few system/OS windows or applications
where SysExporter doesn't "see" the data/text, so then I'm back to screen
prints (maybe it doesn't yet detect/monitor ALL the possible system/OS window
types ???).

I just checked and realized I don't have any "Allowed items" (exclusions)
set up in WD (so I guess I wouldn't be losing much with an uninstall <g>),
but I do have a couple of items quarantined and SysExporter is showing the
info in both the WD Quarantine listview (list of quarantined items) and
textboxes describing each item in the listview. Of course, the info in the
textbox can be highlighted for copy/paste operations, but the info in the
listview can't, which illustrates the potential usefulness of SysExporter.
Perhaps it would be useful with at least identifying/listing exclusions
before a WD uninstall (or, of course, in any other situations where you need
the text but can't highlight it).

If you're not already familiar with SysExporter, to quote from the NirSoft
site (http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/sysexp.html), it "allows you to grab the
data stored in standard list-views, tree-views, list boxes, combo boxes,
text-boxes, and WebBrowser/HTML controls from almost any application running
on your system, and export it to text, HTML or XML file." I'm not connected
with NirSoft in any way and don't know the author, Nir Sofer, but he/she has
a number of utilities I've found very useful (esp. FileDate Changer,
IEHistoryView, SysExporter, WinLister, and WinUpdatesList).

If I really need the exact text of a window that can't be
highlighted/copied/pasted, but SysExporter doesn't "see" it, and I don't want
to retype it myself from a screen print, I can sometimes locate it with Karen
Kenworthy's Window Watcher, which purports to list (in a treeview), describe,
and locate onscreen each visible and invisible open "window," including
buttons, lists, menus, text, etc. Much of the info it provides is too
technical for me, and there seem to be thousands of "windows" open at any
given time, so it isn't always easy to find what I'm seeking, but between the
treeview and a built-in search function, usually I can locate the correct
window and find the necessary text in the description of the window, once I
find it. Window Watcher can be downloaded at
http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptwinwatch.asp. (I'm not connected with
Karen Kenworthy in any way, but I've followed her newsletter and website for
years -- she has written a number of other useful free utilities that can be
accessed at her site.)

Well, maybe I'm telling you things you already know, or already have better
ways to do, but I guess I just enjoy sharing little tips/tricks I've learned
and spreading the gospel of freeware. So, if any of the above is new and
helpful to you, please consider it an expression of gratitude for your
assistance to me and others ... and maybe it will be useful to others who
might read this post.

Thanks again !!!

---gdv

 

[Guest]

(SEE BELOW for addendum to earlier msg)

Dave -

Also FYI, in the past year I've bee using NirSoft's SysExporter to grab
data/text that is on-screen but can't be highlighted to copy & paste (e.g.,
error message popups), and that has worked better than screen prints in many
cases. However, there seem to be a few system/OS windows or applications
where SysExporter doesn't "see" the data/text, so then I'm back to screen
prints (maybe it doesn't yet detect/monitor ALL the possible system/OS window
types ???).

Addendum to earlier msg:

Ironically, just today (Sept 3, 2007) NirSoft released an update to
SysExporter that may eliminate the above limitation re not "seeing" some
text/data. The new version SysExporter 1.30 has an option to display hidden
windows and items with invisible parent windows! Haven't tried it yet, but
seems like it might "see" the text/data I haven't been able to see before.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/sysexp.html

 

[Guest]

(SEE BELOW for another addendum to earlier msg)

Dave -

Yeah, I've also gone the screen print route many times to save info I
couldn't access in file or text form, & it can be a real hassle! (FYI, I
like the freeware version of PrintKey v4.00 By Alfred Bolliger because I can
easily select a sizeable rectangle to get just the info I want rather than
the whole screen -- it's copyrighted 1998 but works fine on WinXP -- might
still be available on shareware/freeware sites, but I think last time I
checked I found v5.10 that I haven't yet tried, and his site now appears to
only list a 30-Day Trialware Printkey-Pro v1.04.)

Addendum to above: Just happened to run into the link for the free
PrintKey2000 v5.10 mentioned above >>---> click on the link for "Print
Screen" under "Free Software" at the following address:
http://www.bls-software.com/downloads.htm

---gdv

 

[Dave M]

Thanks for your very informative posts, gdv. I believe that I even
remember using one or two of Karen's programs from years (and computer
systems) in the past. It's great when you take the time to share that
information with everyone, so that they can extract whatever seems most
beneficial.

 

[Guest]

Dave -

You're certainly welcome. By the way, the NirSoft SysExporter still doesn't
show the text contents of some popup windows, but it's been really helpful in
many situations. I've been thinking of emailing him/her with some examples
that don't show up, but just haven't had time yet.

-gdv

 

[Guest]

hi. I am so far from an expert on this stuff i probaly shouldnt be here.
I just downloaded the defender and dcanned. I have 307 errors. it wants me
to upgrade, thats fine. I need a free upgrade to that fix my errors. I did a
search I believe on micrsofts home page and thought this was the best link.
PLEASE HELP!!!
thank you james

 

[Dave M]

Hi James,

307, wow. that really sounds more like a registry cleaner than Microsoft's
Windows Defender. are you sure about the product name? look in help >
about and see if Microsoft's copyright is mentioned, also there's a picture
of the home page here:
http://www.winsupersite.com/images/reviews/windef_b2_01.jpg
The other somewhat suspicious item is that "free upgrade to fix errors"
unless you had a very old copy of Windows Defender installed before, we
haven't seen that kind of message for a year or so.

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Here's a link to Windows Defender--let's see what this does for you:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...E7-DA2B-4A6A-AFA4-F7F14E605A0D&displaylang=en

--