Actually, I initially prototyped blacklisting based on executable files and even specific file versions. The problem was, scanning local drives for these executables took forever, and chewed up a lot of CPU usage. One of my primary goals was to keep the tool really snappy, so that it could even be run in a login script without stalling forever – so I ended up cutting this feature.

If you want to test it, just drop me a message on the contact page.

Cheers, Dan

I’ll start off by noting that in addition to having another Dan posting a response, you now have a second Ben posting one.

I would very much like to put this tool to use on my home network, specifically on the family computer. My family isn’t very tech savvy, and sometimes make some bad decisions about what kind of software he installs on the system. I’ve tried to talk to them about this, but my brother has been deaf to my warnings in the past. (He used to have a PC computer of his own. Before a faulty PSU bricked it, I ended up having to reinstall Windows three times.) I make a point of logging into the system every so often and checking what’s listed in the Add/Remove Programs control panel, but like many people these days, he knows just enough about computers to get himself into trouble.

The last time I logged in to check the list, free disk space was incredibly low, so I browsed around the file system and found a folder located at “C:\Program Files\Copy of Shareaza\”. P2P applications are great if you’re careful about which files you download. However, they aren’t something I want present on the family computer. (This is how he infected Windows with viruses on his old computer. He would download what he thought were songs, but were in reality executable files. I told him time and time again to look at the file extension, but he never listened.)

So, my question is this: can SCT check for the presence of a blacklisted application by executable name? In my opinion, such a feature would be incredibly valuable, especially with all of the “portable” versions of applications being released that simply extract themselves.

Even without this kind of functionality, I’d still be interested in giving this tool a whirl. I also have a mock-corporate environment of 6 networked virtual machines (one Server 2008 system, three Windows XP, one Vista, and one Windows 7). I set them up for my own testing purposes, but would be happy to introduce SCT into the mix and put it through its paces.

I’ll send you on a version to test with. Let me know how you get on.

All of the tools available here are done in VB.NET

Cheers, Dan

I only came back to check if you had updated the WMA ( you DO love your acronyms don’t you? ) and discovered that you’ve created this tool also. Sounds great, I’ve worked at a few sites where admin rights were everywhere and therefore all manor of unmanaged, unpatched software was installed. I’d appreciate being able to test this, possibly at my next location if possible. Out of interest, what language do you create your apps with?

Cheers, Ben