[With Hitman Pro] A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...

DoctorG

@netarchitech i think i can close bug report as it is solved with a 32bit version.

DoctorG

@netarchitech said in A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

Should I just use the Snapshot going forward and uninstall the old 64-bit Vivaldi installation

The Snapshot is for a testing.

I suggest to uninstall 64bit and install 32bit 6.5 Stable.

netarchitech

@DoctorG said in A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

i think i can close bug report as it is solved with a 32bit version.

I would think so...Would that mean I just use the 32-bit version going forward or is there the possibility of returning to the 64-bit version at some point in the future if the Devs find the final solution?

netarchitech

@DoctorG said in A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

The Snapshot is for a testing.

I suggest to uninstall 64bit and install 32bit 6.5 Stable.

I understand...Should I just delete the Snapshot, as it is akin to a Portable program, that is no need for uninstalling?

Thank you again @DoctorG

DoctorG

@netarchitech Yes, you can delete the Snapshot folder.

DoctorG

@netarchitech The bug report is still open for the 64bit 6.5 Stable.
I added only a comment that the issue does not appear with 64bit.
The dev team needs investigation.

netarchitech

@DoctorG said in A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

The bug report is still open for the 64bit 6.5 Stable.
I added only a comment that the issue does not appear with 64bit.
The dev team needs investigation.

@DoctorG Sounds good...I look forward to a successful final resolution at some point a little further on down the road...

Catweazle

@netarchitech, in several reviews Hitman Pro (Sophos), no has a good result, for the scan on demand I use Panda Cloud Cleaner (free and pretty effective, no false positives, no conflicts, no remains resident after scannig an cleaning
The MS Defender is currently one of the best AV in the market (even against rootkits apart of a good Sandbox system in W10/11), additional resident AV are not really needed and even may create conflicts.

netarchitech

@Catweazle said in [With Hitman Pro] A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

in several reviews Hitman Pro (Sophos), no has a good result, for the scan on demand I use Panda Cloud Cleaner (free and pretty effective, no false positives, no conflicts, no remains resident after scannig an cleaning
The MS Defender is currently one of the best AV in the market (even against rootkits apart of a good Sandbox system in W10/11), additional resident AV are not really needed and even may create conflicts.

@Catweazle Thank you for the recommendations. I will look into Panda Cloud Cleaner...As for MS Defender, I am aware of the good reputation and capabilities they have built into it...

For a long time I had just MS Defender as my primary AV, but recently I ran into some difficulties and I decided to try another AV to get a secondary perspective...Surprisingly, the new AV identified some malware that MS Defender had overlooked, so I have decided to continue running the new AV...

While I understand that reviews can help to get a sense of whether it is worthwhile or not to try/buy a particular software/security solution, I think hands-on testing remains the best judge of whether or not the solution is going to ultimately do the job...

That said, I have used HitManProAlert for years now without incident...I feel it does a good job as a secondary line of defense...It remains to be seen what the ultimate cause of the Error Flood was...As previously mentioned in this post, Rick from HitmanPro Support stated:

Yes we've noticed, and reported to Vivaldi including debug output etc, so far no luck for solving the issue (we're not the root-cause).
Only workaround available for now is to uninstall the 64 bit version and run the 32 bit one that doesn't have this issue.

My hope is that the good Devs here at Vivaldi have a chance at some point to take a look and find a solution to whatever is causing the Error Flood...In the meantime, I will thankfully use the 32-bit version workaround...

yngve

Crashes due to other applications injecting/inserting themselves in another application's process using a DLL is a well-known problem, and it is the vendor doing the injection that has the sole, exclusive responsibility of keeping the injected DLL from crashing the process it has been injected into!

They created the problem, they get to fix it!

I found two 5-year old reports (there may be more) in the Chromium bug tracker relating to this particular application. One was closed as won't fix.

I would be very surprised if this app wasn't causing similar issues in Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers (despite their claim otherwise). If it doesn't, then that is likely because it is looking for the "chrome" application name (which in Vivaldi is only returned for the sandboxed GPU process due to driver shenanigans by GPU vendors).

Additionally, the report filed by Sophos did not include sufficient information (e.g. a crashdump) to even remotely analyze/debug the issue. My best guess is that their call into Vivaldi is using the wrong data.

So, both because of that and, as mentioned above, it is their responsibility to fix the issue, I have closed the report as WontFix.

If they think we need to change something, they will have to point out in Chromium's code exactly where and how. I am not not going to install their product to debug their application.

Pathduck

@yngve said in [With Hitman Pro] A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

I would be very surprised if this app wasn't causing similar issues in Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium-based browsers (despite their claim otherwise). If it doesn't, then that is likely because it is looking for the "chrome" application name (which in Vivaldi is only returned for the sandboxed GPU process due to driver shenanigans by GPU vendors).

Good point - the 32-bit version of Vivaldi didn't get the GPU fix so that sounds like a likely culprit.

Avast's Web Shield hooks itself into Vivaldi, I've never had any issues with it doing so.

yngve

@Pathduck said in [With Hitman Pro] A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

Good point - the 32-bit version of Vivaldi didn't get the GPU fix so that sounds like a likely culprit.

Hmmm, I had actually forgotten about that; which is definitely a possibility, given the circumstances.

If that is indeed the cause of the problem, then I would be surprised if there isn't at least one other browser running into the same issue (the one that pointed us at the solution for that problem).

Catweazle

@yngve, I also remember several issues in the past with Sophos and Kaspersky AV in Vivaldi. In any case, in Windows in the past it is true that until Windows 7, the Defender left much to be desired and made it necessary to use a third party AV. At that time I have always used Panda AV which has been tremendously fast and efficient, they were the first to use a real-time Virus reference from the cloud, instead of a local database that required permanent updates, in addition to an excellent heuristic. This technique is used today by most AVs, including the Defender.

If I had to use another AV today, it would in any case be Panda, which is also a European company (Spanish) with the corresponding compliance with the GDPR, of which others, especially Avira, known for privacy problems, are not as strict. . The second option would be BitDefender, which is one of the best currently and which I use on my mobile. (Both, Panda and BitDefender offers enough protections in its free versions)

In any case, you should never have several AVs running at the same time, since they all analyze the same sensitive system files, which can inevitably lead to conflicts between them and false positives. If you use Defender, you should only use those that work on demand and do not remain resident after the scan, for example you can use AdwCleaner or Panda Cloud Cleaner, but not MalwareByte, because it does remain resident after the scan and requires to be turned off using the TaskManager afterwards.

I believe for this reason that the present problem is the Hitman that is the root of the problem, which continues to work together with the Defender, causing this issue, it is therefore advisable to check in the TaskManager if it continues working after the scan and in this case terminate the process.

Zalex108

@Zalex108 said in [With Hitman Pro] A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

Disabling for a while HMP and running V, the Events reports are gone?

Using x64

So,
Again

@netarchitech

¿?

netarchitech

@yngve said in [With Hitman Pro] A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

Crashes due to other applications injecting/inserting themselves in another application's process using a DLL is a well-known problem, and it is the vendor doing the injection that has the sole, exclusive responsibility of keeping the injected DLL from crashing the process it has been injected into!

They created the problem, they get to fix it!

@yngve Thank you for taking the time to post your perspective on this situation...It really helped to see the overall dynamics involved...

When I received the response from Rick at HitManPro Support stating that they were not the "root cause" of the problem, I erroneously accepted that assertion, thought it could be something within Vivaldi and that it might be examined at some point in the future...

Now that I've read your posts I am thankful to have a much clearer view of the issue...I would always prefer to have access to both sides of an issue before claiming to understand the situation...Thank you...

netarchitech

@Zalex108 Thank you for following up...Using x86...The Error Reports have stopped...

On that note, I am indebted to all of you whom have so generously contributed your time, effort and energy to this thread, thereby helping to overcome/resolve this issue...In the relatively short time since I have been acquainted with Vivaldi, I have come to realize not only what a finely crafted piece of software Vivaldi is becoming, but what a special and supportive community is growing up around it...Thank you

Zalex108

@netarchitech said in [With Hitman Pro] A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

@Zalex108 Thank you for following up...Using x32...The Error Reports have stopped...

On that note, I am indebted to all of you whom have so generously contributed your time, effort and energy to this thread, thereby helping to overcome/resolve this issue...In the relatively short time since I have been acquainted with Vivaldi, I have come to realize not only what a finely crafted piece of software Vivaldi is becoming, but what a special and supportive community is growing up around it...Thank you

Yes,
X86 got clear that doesn't show the reports, but what I've not read in the whole Topic is about the results testing Vivaldi x64 and disabling HTP.

This test will determine whether HTP is involved as appears to be the reason for the Event Manager Reports.

Then,
You can report the results to HTP Support as well.

Zalex108

Haven't seen either the mention about the results using a Clean Profile.
This as well determines whether is related to an Extension also or not.

You should try all that before any Official report, otherwise will not be reliable to know what really happens.

netarchitech

@Zalex108 Just when I thought I was done...Back into the fray I must go...hahaha...Seriously though, you are right and I want to see this through to the end...I will report back once I complete the necessary testing...Thank you for following up and the continuing support...Much appreciated!

netarchitech

@Zalex108 said in [With Hitman Pro] A flood of Vivaldi-related errors in Windows Event Viewer...:

X86 got clear that doesn't show the reports, but what I've not read in the whole Topic is about the results testing Vivaldi x64 and disabling HTP.

This test will determine whether HTP is involved as appears to be the reason for the Event Manager Reports.

Then,
You can report the results to HTP Support as well.

Haven't seen either the mention about the results using a Clean Profile.
This as well determines whether is related to an Extension also or not.

@Zalex108 @yngve @DoctorG @EricJH I've completed the necessary testing...Results are as follows:

Steps taken:

Backup latest Vivaldi Profile
Uninstall Vivaldi x86
Uninstall HitManPro.Alert
Install Vivaldi x64

--> Vivaldi "Plain Vanilla" Install
- Check Windows Event Viewer...No Errors...PASSED
Uninstall Vivaldi x64
Reinstall Vivaldi x64 with Clean Profile

--> Vivaldi "Clean Profile" Install
- Check Windows Event Viewer...No Errors...PASSED
Test all Extensions with Clean Profile (6 Total)

--> Vivaldi "Extensions" Install
- Check Windows Event Viewer...No Errors...PASSED
Uninstall Vivaldi x64
Reinstall Vivaldi x64 with Latest Profile

--> Vivaldi "Latest Profile" Install
- Check Windows Event Viewer...No Errors...PASSED
Install latest HitManPro.Alert

--> Vivaldi "HMPA" Install
- Check Windows Event Viewer...ERRORS...FAILED
Uninstall Vivaldi x64
Reinstall Vivaldi x86 with Latest Profile

--> Vivaldi x86 "Latest Profile" Install
- Check Windows Event Viewer...No Errors...PASSED

Next Step: Report findings to HitManPro Support...Stay Tuned...