tigerlily's Screen Dimmer [a122] - Multi-Monitor Screen Dimmer for Developers, Students, Gamers & Digital Nomads

[Tigerlily]

@Tech Stuff
Agreed. I tried to diagnose this issue a little bit today but still couldn't figure out a solution or where the problem is coming from in the first place. You mentioned that the sliders worked fine on your Win10, but not Win11.

About how many days/months ago did you switch from W10 to W11 and begin experiencing this problem? I ask because this started affecting me sometime early 2021, but seems like it may have only very recently started affecting you.


If anyone knows, or can point me to any resource that would help me fix this issue then I'm all ears and ready to test some sh-t out.

[Tech Stuff]

I switched sometime in early 2022, however I hadn't used the tool for ages on w10 so it might well have broken ages before I noticed. I doubt it would have broken as I have stuck to w10 1903 for ages.

[Tigerlily]

@Tech Stuff

Thanks for the feedback. I am slowly still working on the next iteration for this screen dimmer app, lots of people tell me they really love using it but the UI is SUPER UGLY lol so. Maybe sometime later this year I'll release a non-buggy upgraded version. I use the new beta v2 version of this app everyday, honestly don't know how I'd manage without it nowadays.

[hasantr]

Is the DDC-CI feature not available on most monitors or video cards? I haven't been able to find a screen that I can use yet. The support for this feature is very poor. We have to deal with gamma. It's not quite effective either. And screen dimming does not save energy except for Led screens. We direct the user to turn on the screen brightness and adjust the gamma. But this is also bad for TFT screens for energy.It is very sad that DDC-CI Support is ignored by Hardware manufacturers.

[Varacolaci]

very suspicious, the source code can't run but the exe file does.
Even when exploring the exe file nothing seems bad but the code inside the exe wont run alone, so not using this

The weirdest part is that after a deeper analysis it seems to hook keystrokes (sniff keylog) but it does not have any hotkey functionalities....

[gregster]

@Varacolaci, I looks like this was made for an alpha version of AHK (a122) - and is probably compiled with that version.
Since then, AHK v2 has changed a bit. I wouldn't necessarily expect the code to run with the current v2 release.

The weirdest part is that after a deeper analysis it seems to hook keystrokes (sniff keylog) but it does not have any hotkey functionalities....

Deeper analysis of what? The compiled version? How did you get there ?
Of course the exe contains the complete AHK interpreter it was compiled with (probably v2-a122), like any compiled AHK script.

Also, I see two hotkeys in the source code: lines 301 and 305

[Varacolaci]

Deeper analyses of what? The compiled version? How did you get there ?
Of course the exe contains the complete AHK interpreter it was compiled with (probably v2-a122), like any compiled AHK script.

Also, I see two hotkeys in the source code.

[Mod edit: Fixed quote tags.]

well if you don't know exe forensic that is on you. But i do see the hotkey now. even so the calls aren't from them are from the hk a122 itself
same with the wpad ones i saw

[gregster]

Okay, I thought as a forensic expert, you would have figured out the most obvious things, like the used alpha version and the contained hotkeys.
Any reproducible details? Like this, your accusations seem a bit thin. Please share your knowledge.
Did you see smth different than the usual keyboard hook which AHK might install for much of its hotkey capabilities?
Afaics, in this script, the ^Esc hotkey will install the keyboard hook.


So you say that the used AHK v2-alpha-version a122 is actually the problem?
lexikos could probably tell you smth about all the Windows components and C++ resources which are present in any AHK interpreter. Afaik, some of those might phone home to Microsoft and related servers. But you should provide some details of your findings.

[Varacolaci]

Okay, I thought as a forensic expert, you would have figured out the most obvious things, like the used alpha version and the contained hotkeys.
Any reproducible details? Like this, your accusations seem a bit thin. Please share your knowledge.
Did you see smth different than the usual keyboard hook which AHK might install for much of its hotkey capabilities?
Afaics, in this script, the ^Esc hotkey will install the keyboard hook.


So you say that the used AHK v2-alpha-version a122 is actually the problem?
lexikos could probably tell you smth about all the Windows components and C++ resources which are present in any AHK interpreter. Afaik, some of those might phone home to Microsoft and related servers. But you should provide some details of your findings.

First, I never accused anyone. I said it was suspicious, because it is. The hook it makes is not a simple hotkey wait but instead a whole keystroke logger.
Third, it makes a lot of registry changes (regarding wpad) that seemed also suspicious.

So please don't use words I never used saying I accuse anyone, caution in internet is never a bad thing, but you do as you wish

[gregster]

I think asking for some details is a normal thing in such a case of a rather complex script, especially if you claim to know about exe forensics and smth seems "very suspicious".

It just looks like your initial findings could easily be explained. After all, we have no clue about your potential credentials in the field of exe forensics. If we can learn from you how your results can be reproduced, that would be great. Or are we talking about the report of some tool which still needs to be interpreted ?

As you might know, many "simple" hotkeys don't require the keyboard hook, but others do. Afaik, if the hook is needed for at least one hotkey, the hook gets loaded. Then the hook is active, until it gets uninstalled - either by closing the script or intentional uninstallation, or some other (often unwanted) events while the script is still running. Then, the "hook hotkey" won't work anymore until the keyboard hook gets reinstalled. After a quick test with a minimal script, it seems that the used ^Esc:: hotkey actually requires the hook, while a simple Esc:: would not.

Of course, registry changes can be suspicious, but then again, if we are looking at a tool which can make a lot of changes on a system level, like this one, they are also not completely surprising. That's why I am asking for details. I would assume you have looked into the specific changes and can tell us how they are problematic.
Could the network-specific activities for example be caused by v2's own Download() function which is used here, at least partially? I would think so. Or did you identify other reasons?

So I asked if you could provide some details which can be reproduced, examined and interpreted. Perhaps this script can be improved, perhaps it does unnecessary things, perhaps there is an actual problem with this specific exe. Perhaps it's just fine.
Are the suspicious activities caused by the actions of the script or the included interpreter? Is the included interpreter of this alpha version different from the official one which is still available in the download archive? It seemed like you could have some real insight, exceeding a purely heuristic report which needs to be interpreted and I can create myself anytime.

[samt]

Old thread but thought I'd try to reply..

Does the code work as an .ahk file? I cannot get it to run, keep getting some error after error.
The .exe file works and actually can reduce screen brightness. No hotkey support it seems.

Is there any other free screen dimmer that actually dims the screens brightness instead of using a overlay box? This is the only one I've found that does that..

[boiler]

@samt — This script is written in AHK v2 (and it is located in the v2 section of the forum, which is the whole AHK area other than the designated v1 section). I suspect you are getting errors trying to run it because you are using AHK v1, which has significantly different syntax.

[gregster]

I think this script was created for the a122 alpha version of AHK v2 and might not be up-to-date enough to be run with the current stable release.

[samt]

I've tried running in using V2, but get some error box pop up:

Error: Missing comma

Text:GetPhysicalMonitorsFromHMONITOR(hMonitor, PhysicalMonitorArraySize, ByRef PHYSIC…
Line: 1067
File: ******************

The program will exit.

...trying to fix an error brings up another error.
At least the .exe works and actually reduces my screen brightness.