AutoHotkey Community

[meter]

I started having problems compiling AHK scripts this weekend after installing the newest (8.0) version of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition. The problem is similar to the one described here.

The problem went away when I turned off AVG's realtime scanning ... then for good when I replaced AVG with Avira AntiVir . Still, I like AVG's updating system better, and the tray icon is so much nicer to look at.

Anyhoo, I wanted to ask if any other users were having similar experiences with the latest AVG ... and for a heads up if AVG gets around to fixing it.

Also, does anyone know why AHK seems more prone than average to these kinds of false-positive issues?
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-Meter

[n-l-i-d]

This is not AutoHotkey itself, but the fact that it uses upx (the Ultimate Packer for eXecutables) to compress the resulting executable, this upx-compression triggers the anti-virus programs. If you rename the upx.exe file in your AutoHotkey folder to something else, you get a non-compressed exe, on which the anti-virus programs should not trigger anymore.

You can test this by creating a upx compressed ahk-script, and a non-compressed, and upload them both to something like virustotal.

[meter]

Thanks for the info. For me personally having compressed executables isn't a critical issue, so I think I will leave compression disabled by default so it doesn't create problems for me or anyone using an exe I created.

Which brings us to: is there a command line switch or something to disable compression when compiling ... if not, should there/can there be?
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-Meter

[Oberon]

[meter]

Oberon, thanks for the tip. The documentation you point to mentions the same technique that n-l-i-d mentioned above. What I was suggesting is that it would be nice to make the compression fully turn-off-able at the command line or via the GUI. There's already an option in the GUI for level of compression. From a UI point of view, adding another option called "off" to the list suggests itself. I suppose this discussion should be moved to the "Wish List" section.
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-Meter

[Lexikos]

I get "Error opening the destination file" every time I try to compile, even if I rename upx.exe, unless I disable AVG. I get no messages from AVG, and it still says "Threats detected and blocked: 0".

[meter]

Lexicos,

If I remember correctly, I had to kill some AHK and/or upx tasks using the Task Manager after trying to compile with AVG active. For some reason they were left running after the unsuccessful compile attempts.

Also, how are you disabling AVG? I disabled the realtime scanner from within the main GUI interface.
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-Meter

[Zippo()]

[Lexikos]