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PAR · (This post was last modified: 31-01-2022 11:59 by PAR.)

Norton 360, Mozilla Firefox and MS Edge are all blocking the Windows download of MinimWatch 2. Norton 360 and Firefox are even blocking access to your website.

In all cases a "Dangerous Website" message is generated. Although this can be bypassed the download itself is completely blocked either by the above anti-virus utility or by the browsers.

Please advise how this can be rectified.

I have a fully paid MinimServer 2.1 for Melco installation and need to install MinimWatch on 2 new PCs.

simbun · 31-01-2022, 15:03

I'm using Firefox 96.0.3 and I can get to the MinimServer site and download MinimWatch without any issues.

If I try with Edge however, I can get to the site but it states 'MinimWatch-2.1-install.exe was blocked as unsafe by Microsoft Edge', but if you're persistant you can eventually convince Edge to keep it :-)

I would have to assume it's a Norton issue, have you tried disabling it? Have you tried downloading from a tablet or phone?

PAR · 31-01-2022, 15:33

(31-01-2022 15:03)simbun Wrote: I'm using Firefox 96.0.3 and I can get to the MinimServer site and download MinimWatch without any issues.

If I try with Edge however, I can get to the site but it states 'MinimWatch-2.1-install.exe was blocked as unsafe by Microsoft Edge', but if you're persistant you can eventually convince Edge to keep it :-)

I would have to assume it's a Norton issue, have you tried disabling it? Have you tried downloading from a tablet or phone?

Thanks for your interest. Yes I have uninstalled Norton and the problem persists. I was able to download it from Google Chrome though. However the .exe file was then spiked by windows which would not allow me to open it saying that it was from an unknown source - yes I did override this. That last point though given the multiple sources blocking the website and/or download makes me suspect that there is an expired certificate that needs renewal.

simbun · 31-01-2022, 15:41

It was blocked through Firefox after you uninstalled Norton?

Scanning it at VirusTotal showed it was clear - including from Microsoft - and then as you say, when you go to install it Microsoft SmartScreen tries to block it!
I just looked at an old MinimWatch I had (2.0.8) and none of them were signed, so I guess it just takes time for it to be trusted.

simoncn · 31-01-2022, 20:59

First and most important, there is no virus or malware in the MinimServer and MinimWatch downloads if you are downloading them from the MinimServer downloads page. You should override any such warnings (see steps 3, 4 and 5 of this section).

It appears that any new versions of MinimServer and MinimWatch start life as untrusted by Microsoft and are eventually "promoted" to trusted when there have been enough downloads. It seems Norton is doing the same thing. I am surprised to hear there is a blockage from Firefox. I have never seen this myself.

I reported this incorrect blockage/message to Microsoft about a week ago. They have acknowledged my report and "are currently reviewing it."

PAR · 01-02-2022, 01:17

(31-01-2022 20:59)simoncn Wrote: First and most important, there is no virus or malware in the MinimServer and MinimWatch downloads if you are downloading them from the MinimServer downloads page. You should override any such warnings (see steps 3, 4 and 5 of this section).

It appears that any new versions of MinimServer and MinimWatch start life as untrusted by Microsoft and are eventually "promoted" to trusted when there have been enough downloads. It seems Norton is doing the same thing. I am surprised to hear there is a blockage from Firefox. I have never seen this myself.

I reported this incorrect blockage/message to Microsoft about a week ago. They have acknowledged my report and "are currently reviewing it."

Thanks for your response Simon. As a fairly long time user of MinimServer I had no qualms about it being clean. But until Norton or MS ( or others) validate it there have to be new users ( or potential new users) who will be discouraged.

NB: I spent around 2 hours on Sunday speaking to Norton who seemed not even to understand what I was talking about

simoncn · 01-02-2022, 13:57

Yes, I understand that this is likely to put off new users. Thanks for your efforts with Norton.

It appears that signing the downloads with a recognised code signing certificate might reduce the chances of this warning being triggered, so I have purchased a code signing certificate and I will replace the downloads with signed versions soon.

PAR · 01-02-2022, 17:08

(01-02-2022 13:57)simoncn Wrote: Yes, I understand that this is likely to put off new users. Thanks for your efforts with Norton.

It appears that signing the downloads with a recognised code signing certificate might reduce the chances of this warning being triggered, so I have purchased a code signing certificate and I will replace the downloads with signed versions soon.

Thanks for your help Simon. Let's hope that it all runs smoothly hereon.

simoncn · (This post was last modified: 15-02-2022 23:25 by simoncn.)

I have now received the certificate and used it to sign both MinimServer and MinimWatch for Windows. The newly released downloads MinimServer 2.1.2 and MinimWatch 2.1.2 are signed and should not produce so many warnings. I have tried downloading and installing them and I got one warning from SmartScreen for each of these downloads.

I would appreciate feedback from other users as to whether this change has improved things. The situation might improve over time as the certificate owner (MinimWorld Ltd) gains reputation with SmartScreen.

rich_y · 28-12-2022, 11:22

smart screen still blocks the file from running, then deletes it.

In W10 - you can add exclusion to prevent the file from deleting.
But i get errors on install. See this thread. https://forum.minimserver.com/showthread.php?tid=6778