d7x Release Notes

Fixes:

• Custom icon (e.g. applogo.ico) now displays properly in the top left corner of app windows.  The last few builds were overriding a customized icon with the d7x logo.
• d7x Internal Event Viewer fixes:
  • Resizing the window now functions as expected.
  • The tab order (keyboard tab) has been arranged to navigate the options/buttons as expected.
  • Write event is now functional again.  (Note that d7x written events are only shown in the Windows Event Viewer; to be fixed.)

Updated Malwarebytes and Emsisoft a2cmd profiles, added a Malwarebytes (Uninstall) profile.

Minor fix to custom apps execution involving functionality found in Emsisoft a2cmd config profile.

Windows 10 version 1809 (currently being released) has introduced a new “Downloads” option to Windows disk cleanup tool CleanMgr.exe (why?!)  This will of course delete all files in the default downloads folder.  (More on that at ghacks.net)

d7, d7II, and d7x have been built with future proofing in mind for their usage of CleanMgr.exe, and therefore all previous versions will automatically enable the “Downloads” option for deletion when running as an internal function.  Since it is all automatic, running this functionality will delete all of your customer’s downloads!

d7x v18.10.11.0 has been released today in order to DISABLE the deletion of “Downloads” when using it’s CleanMgr.exe functionality.  This update is pushed automatically to all release build versions of d7x.

This is yet another great reason to stop using the original d7 for those of you that still use it, and if any current subscribers have not yet updated from d7II to d7x here’s another good reason for that, too (what are you waiting for, d7x is included in your subscription!!)

Edit:  for clarity, the d7x CleanMgr functionality also always skips (de-selects) the Recycle Bin, memory dumps (since they are small and so you can analyze them of course), MS Office temp files (installation/cab files which are sometimes necessary), and the file compression options.

Additions:  The dSupportSuite client software, the digital calling card with a purpose, is now included with d7x!

(This is not the full stand-alone app with Mgmt Console, custom installers, and remote config update capabilities; that is still a separate app and purchase.)

This video introduces you to the dSupportSuite client interface within d7x allowing you to install and configure it on your customers’ PCs.

For actual dSupportSuite configuration please see our youtube playlist for that purpose:  Getting Started with dSupportSuite

Additions:

• Added new DISM.EXE commands to cleanup WinSxS and other areas to the d7x Delete Windows Update Backups function.
  • (WinVista and up) dism /online /Cleanup-Image /SPSuperseded
  • (Win10) dism /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup
  • (Win10) dism /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup /ResetBase
• Added additional cleanup to d7x Delete Windows Update Temp function.
  • %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\DataStore.edb
  • %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\DataStore\Logs\*.*
• Added d7x Delete Windows Logs function (below) primarily to cleanup over-sized logs in %windir%\Logs\CBS and a few other locations.

Fixes:

• Fixed an issue where Single Pay licensing did not prevent d7x from updating beyond the licensed version maximum.
• Misc debug cleanup.

• Fixed d7x not restarting after downloading config with d7xRDT.

Fixes:

• MSI files were not launching when configured in custom apps.
• The end session “Close and Password Protect” and “Close and Delete…” options were switched.

Known Issues (TODO):

• d7x not launching (must be launched manually) after config download when executed from d7xRDT.  Fixed in v18.9.28

Fixes:  Windows activation check ran twice at session start if configured to generate an info report at session start, and failed to determine when not activated on some Windows 10 systems.

Changes:  The main d7x user interface is now re-sizable, and is slightly smaller by default (to fit a 800×600 resolution, which it is still only slightly larger than this in width.)  A more minor change is that it also has added the same slight gradient background as the new KillEmAll interface.

The smaller interface now serves to replace the d7x “safe mode” interface which was smaller and re-sizable as well.  Consolidating both (separate) user interfaces into one will allow for faster and more consistent development as this single user interface is updated with d7x code and altered graphically as time progresses.

Because the d7x “safe mode” user interface also had the advantage of being lighter/faster due to removing the “System Info” tab and startup checks (some involving WMI which can slow down startup) “safe mode” functionality persists as an option in this update, and will not be removed, although the actual separate interface itself was removed.  The functionality now uses the main d7x interface but maintains the ability to skip startup checks from the “System Info” tab, which is also hidden from the user in this mode.  The custom logo and top info from the main interface remains however, but the status info is not functional (see pic) and currently the option to switch back to d7x “normal mode” is no longer a button, but is now under the same menu item as is getting to “safe mode” (see pic.)  Some of the non-functional top info will be added (likely the OS info and all that is covered in the pic below) but NOT the RAM utilization and the CPU/PageFile which are normally updated in intervals of seconds.

Additions:

• d7x.cmd (During a previous update I believe this went unmentioned.)  Under Check for d7x Updates in d7x Config, a new button “Create d7x.cmd” exists which creates a batch file in the same directory as your “d7x vX.X.X.X.exe” file.  This batch file can be used to consistently start d7x with the same filename, for anyone scripting launch of d7x in some way.  During any update, when this batch file (of this name) is detected, d7x will update the batch file to start the new “d7x vX.X.X.X.exe” filename, therefore you won’t need to change a thing.

• Added all options from Work With File (except blacklist functionality) to the Examine Target shell extension installed by d7x (optional) including automatic signature checking on the examined file, checking hashes against the current blacklists if used (used/updated via Malware Search Tool 3000 and stored with your own definition files) as well as automatic VirusTotal.com queries for existing hashes and manual queries for items not already hashed by VirusTotal utilizing Sysinternals Sigcheck.exe (subject to it’s query limit/4 per minute limitations.)  See pics.

The new option for “Start Program with Windows” will prompt to add the program to either the Windows registry’s HKLM “Run” key, or the second (new) option is to add to the “RunOnce” key instead.

Of course the “RunOnce” key runs the program once and removes the entry for subsequent restarts, however you may not know that “RunOnce” also launches programs in an administrator context and BEFORE Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) and many other user login related tasks, waiting for the program to terminate prior to loading Windows Explorer as the shell.

Fixes:

• FTP functions requiring the creation of /Nested/Paths/More than one/Level/Deep were failing.  This was notable with reports uploading functionality (entire dir, not zip) which was not creating all of the appropriate nested paths based on your settings from the Reports tab, and when failing to create the paths all reports were uploaded to the FTP root dir.  Fixed.
• Debug submission upload to the server was failing (this did not affect the email submission); this was actually fixed in v18.9.1.0 last week.

Additions:

• New menu options/functionality added to the dialog used by KillEmAll to examine individual files.  This dialog should also be added to Malware Search Tool 3000 in the next few releases.
• The same dialog mentioned above was also added as the new “Examine Target” right-click context menu in Explorer, which when completed with all functionality will replace the older “Work with File/Dir” option that appears in the context menus.

Fixes:

• Report storage format backslashes were creating failures when using “Move reports to FTP server” and not zipping reports, due to a double path/forwardslash was being created when a trailing backslash was used in the Config > Reports > Remote storage format variable syntax.
• Full Auto Mode was re-running all reporting options in the left column of the Audit tab after every reboot.
• Full Auto Mode was reporting that it wasn’t completed, even when it was, if you started it a second time.
• The Reboot (Force) internal d7x functionality had two issues:  First, it prompted the user to reboot with a Yes/No dialog during Auto Mode when it should have just rebooted without prompt.  Second, after the reboot d7x failed to restart itself automatically in order to resume Auto Mode.
• Saving changes to the tech password or other registration/account credentials may not have saved these settings to the older d7II license format, and although backwards compatibility is not planned on being supported with any future changes, this would also cause the changes to not be embedded when creating a new RDT (as a result, if you changed the tech password, your RDT would still contain the old password, therefore it would always prompt for the new tech password upon launching it on the remote system.)

Changes:

• Old report directories/zipped files are no longer uploaded, only the current report directory (zipped or not) will be uploaded to FTP server.

New

• Added specific error messages on connection/login failures to Config Mgmt Portal and in several other operations that communicate with our servers (for example the “Invalid Credentials” message can alert you, so you don’t get the “IP banned; too many invalid login attempts!  Please contact support…” message!)  These specific error messages were introduced a few builds prior, but were available only when registering the app for the first time, causing things like running from the d7xRDT to display more generic errors.

Fixes:

• Last release had a bug causing various internal operations in d7x (most notably Malware Search Tool) to fail to recognize the Windows directory, causing operations relying on that path to fail (e.g. examining the Hosts file, searching the Windows folder in MST3k, etc.)
• The d7x “Safe Mode” window was missing options for Malware Search Tool and dUninstaller which appeared in the main interface, causing other items in the “Safe Mode” UI to perform different behaviors.

Today was a minor update which should hopefully resolve some uncommon behavior where a few people reported not being able to save FTP config settings for self-hosted usage, specifically the settings were wiped when shutting down/restarting d7x.

Additionally the Malware Search Tool and it’s definitions update check still reported defs from 2016 were current, despite the recent update on August 8th, 2018.  This occurred unless you deleted an older d7II_Updates.ini file from the .\Modules directory.  The tool still relied on d7II update information which is not being downloaded/updated through d7x when the info file already exists.  This behavior has been fixed and it should now rely on the d7x update information, which is updated at least at the start of every new session.

Note that even after this update, if you perform an update check through the Malware Search Tool prior to the d7x updates information has been refreshed, it will download the latest definitions yet display a current date of  [   ]  nothing when it reports the successful update (this is expected.)  Also worthy of note is that the “Check for updates” in the Malware Search Tool does not perform or force a full d7x update check, and relies on the existing d7x update behavior.

New:

• Added Windows 10 build number to the OS display (e.g. Build 1803)
• FTP over SSL is now available to Self-Hosted users, including both Implicit and Explicit SSL support.  (d7x Cloud users were transitioned to SSL a few releases back.)
• New FTP setting “AutoFix” to ensure standard server settings/ports when using SSL.  Be sure to disable if using non-standard ports, especially with Implicit or Explicit SSL.

Changes/Fixes:

• Newer d7x based FTP code has replaced ALL d7II based FTP code, even for non-SSL connections.
• Reports uploading and related functionality is rewritten and 100% d7x code.  This fixed a bug where d7x (and d7II) were not uploading previous session reports from the same PC, but only uploaded the current session’s reports.
• Fixed a bug from this weekend’s release where d7x did not think it was properly connected to dCloud, causing functionality failure in Config Mgmt Portal.  Note this weekend’s issue did not affect Self-Hosted configurations.

New:  Config -> Behavior tab -> Updates section -> Create d7x.cmd button.  This creates a ‘d7x.cmd’ which can be used to start d7x consistently by using the same filename.  This is convenient when creating a shortcut or using another script to start d7x after an update is processed that would give d7x a new versioned filename (e.g. ‘d7x vX.X.X.X.exe’) 

Fix:  Fonts that formerly displayed in bold (e.g. in the alerts column of the System Info tab) are now properly displaying as bold where they should be.

Fix:  Although new license purchases were not affected, the previous version did not allow existing d7II based license holders to register a new copy/download of the software without an existing Reg.Settings.dat file from a previously registered copy of d7x or d7II; this has now been resolved.

Fix:  Definitions Merge/Download update checks now use the exact server time for file data comparison (this was previously calculated at upload from the local time, which occasionally caused a minute difference, or consistently a minute or two difference with large definition sets, and this triggered the update/merge prompt on startup or session start when it really shouldn’t have.

Fix:  Definitions Merge triggered an inactive d7II subscription message.  The merge was redesigned using d7x code to replace the older dFunk merge process, but unfortunately you will notice it now takes longer (we’re working on that…)  

Not so new:  “dFunk/MalwareScan” underwent it’s third incarnation and has been adopted into the main d7x code base and binary, and is now called “Malware Search Tool 3000” (it will replace your existing customizations for the former names, and is also available via the ‘Main’ drop down menu.)  We’re trying to find a name more compatible with what it actually does, rather than something weird or misleading.  Suggestions are welcome, but please try to avoid names sounding similar to other apps.  It may not stick since we had also considered integrating the interface into KillEmAll and dUninstaller, but this may or may not materialize.

Also, with any luck the “Check for Updates” option in the main menu is now functional, and since optional updates are already advertised in the lower status bar, this menu option should auto-update to any optional updates that exist and are advertised in the lower status bar (e.g. d7x itself, d7x or legacy modules, default custom apps profiles, test pack, etc..)

For the most part, look for Self-Hosted FTP and Email/SMTP functionality changes, fixes, and improvements as they are switched to the new d7x code platform, with the exception of reports storage for FTP.  There was a bit more but it didn’t make the list because I didn’t write it down, and it was kinda minor because I can’t recall at the moment…

What comes next is finishing the move to d7x code for FTP reports storage, which will allow us to enable the new SSL/AuthTLS functionality for FTP, which is already a functional piece of the d7x code platform.  Look for that soon!

d7x will update itself on next launch, and as always you can download manually from the d7x Manual.

Changes:

• Password protected startup (if configured) should no longer prompt for password after updating config from Config Mgmt Portal.  (this previously occurred only if d7x was started via double-click or without command line arguments.)
• FTP/Email settings are no longer saved in d7II format due to new features, but d7x will still import d7II legacy configurations.
• FTP server settings are combined (meaning if you use the same server for both Config/Defs/Apps as well as Reports, they are now configured in one server slot and not two.)
• For d7II usage, which again should only be necessary for “Offline” tab needs, please use in the .\d7IIv3 subdir only (do not use d7II.exe in the same dir as d7x.exe any longer, but you may use d7II in the d7IIv3 subdir of d7x; NOTE this will maintain a separate .\Config directory and contents.)
• The Technician Password prompt (used with various functionality) now accepts your d7x Subscriber Account password.   NOTE this cannot be used for extracting configs from the Config Mgmt Portal (or d7xRDT) when encrypted with the technician password.
• When you specify an incorrect Technician Password for configs downloaded from Config Mgmt Portal (or d7xRDT) you are prompted as such and given the opportunity to try extraction with a new password.
• The above feature of prompting for password extraction now applies to all compressed archives provided that Auto Mode is not in process.  NOTE that actual support for password protected archives will be added to the custom apps system at a later time; at this time your tech and account passwords will be tried should any existing archive fail to extract with a password error.
• New subscribers should no longer need to wait for manual setup/activation of their account, and will only need the d7x Account Credentials emailed automatically after purchase; d7x will automatically download the user license (this does not apply to existing subscriber accounts.)
• The Dirty Volume check has been bypassed when forcing a reboot from within d7x.

Fixes:

• The test email button in d7x Config is working again!  🙂
• Some email settings failed to send under some cirumstances (fixed.)
• Some self-hosted FTP operations may fail with the previous release (fixed.)
• Right-Click menu options installed in Windows Explorer (e.g. Work with File, Run with Parameters, etc.) were not pointing at the correct file when started (fixed.)
• Splash screen remained behind a few times when it shouldn’t have (fixed.)

Fixes in v18.7.31.1

• Fixed system restore reporting disabled when it wasn’t.
• Fixed prompt that (when enabled) showed that new definitions were found on the server when no defs were ever uploaded.

New Features and Improvements:  

• New in v18.7.31.1:  DataGrab now automatically backs up the \System32\DriverStore\FileRepository
• New SMTP server settings:  “AutoFix” can connect some server misconfigurations, and “Authentication Method” now allows new methods NTLM, Plain, CRAM-MD5, and an Auto selection feature (previously it only supported Login/Basic.)
• New Email and FTP connection error messages are detailed, no more guessing when testing a config…  Additionally the Email failures offer a full log option.  See pics below!
• New FTP configuration interface (not all will be adapted, but more areas in d7x config will be adapted to this interface soon to save screen real estate and lessen confusion for certain groups of settings.)
• Due to combined FTP server settings (see changes) you can now configure up to 3 additional FTP server addresses; regardless d7x will only use ONE server for each operation type (either Config/Defs/Apps or Reports.)  This builds on the existing feature to configure alternate server addresses when your local DNS isn’t setup to use your external server’s hostname, or you use IP addresses (e.g. WAN can connect to ftp.somewhere.com  whereas LAN can connect to 192.168.1.3 or similar.)
• Also building on the previous feature, ALL operations now adhere to the standard that should one FTP server address fail to connect, d7x will attempt to connect to the next one in the list (which is configured for that operation type.)
• FTP servers no longer need to be ping-able when alternate servers are configured; a full connection/login attempt is now performed to determine which server address is used for connection, but is significantly faster than previously (provided that a server is on the other end to accept or reject the request, or if the DNS hostname cannot be found.)

This release fixes an Email failure in SMTP configurations that use either the “No Encryption” or the “SSL only” option.  Those using TLS via the “SSL/TLS” or “StartTLS” SMTP settings were not affected by this issue.

Also fixed this release is the “Send Test Email” button in d7x Config which always returned a successful result, even if it failed to send.

Today’s release adds only one notable improvement to the custom apps download capabilities, which facilitates the download of AdwCleaner using the improved non-direct URL option.  This was necessary when updating the custom apps package for this default app, as well as the Auslogics DD Portable which also needed a newer download URL.  The default custom app profiles are updated automatically and without notification.

Please Note:  v18.5.7.1 is NOT a ‘FastTrack’ build as it will be detected by previous versions, rather this version is actually a ‘Release’ build (which also fixes the bug in prior versions causing this issue.)  For this reason, the only update notification will come as an optional prompt when manually checking for updates (which will incorrectly inform you it is a ‘FastTrack’ build.)  Please update to this build in order to resolve the issue with FastTrack/Release build detections!

Fixed an issue where d7x failed to start with the “System Mode” d7x Startup configured (d7x Config > Behavior tab > Startup Behavior) when d7x was started without all of it’s resources already downloaded, which is always the case when deployed remotely via d7xRDT.  One of the d7x Resources (d7xSvcWait.exe) is required for this mode to function properly.

Side Effects:  The next normal launch of d7x (non-system mode) on that PC would determine that a temporary d7x service was installed, and at this point it will be removed by choosing the “Abort” button.  See pic.  

FYI:  A good work-around that would’ve worked in this case to start d7x in normal (non-system) mode is to force the d7x startup prompt.  Do this by holding down the CTRL key while starting d7x (a great time to do this is after clicking OK on the UAC prompt that fires when you launch d7x), and then choose the “Normal Startup” option which would bypass the pre-configured “System Mode” option causing the failure.

[Release Build] v18.4.18.0 

Download via the d7x Manual (or update by launching d7x.)

• Lock Screen and Unlock Screen:  These d7x features have been added to the list of functions available to assign to your custom list boxes in the main interface.  (from the Config -> Custom Apps tab, or the “Add App / Function” floating window, select either “d7x ALL Functions” or “d7x Misc”, then type “lock” or “screen” in the search box.)
• Lock Screen:  Added prompt to verify that the tech knows the Technician Password before allowing the lock screen to be enabled.  This prompt will occur ONLY ONCE per session, and does NOT apply to the new custom Lock Screen option above when run during Auto Mode.
• Config UI:  Custom Apps and d7x internal functionality (Custom Apps tab) now displays the detailed description in the lower pane when clicked on (so you don’t have to switch back and forth between the Edit/View tab and the Assign App tab if that’s what you’re doing…)
• Config UI:  Improved search option on Custom Apps tab to include item descriptions for d7x internal functionality.
• Config UI:  (Servers / Email tab) Added link to our software FAQ on the website to explain troubleshooting Gmail (specifically regarding MFA and the “Less Secure Application” Google options, which also links directly to them on Google the account site.)
• Updated search engines:  (Config -> Browser/Search tab) Removed Scroogle (no longer in operation) and Dogpile (which at one time was worthy but no longer.)  Added Duckduckgo and Bing (for some reason…) Separated Google searches to specific English, Encrypted, and English/Encrypted options.
• Mail Password Functionality:  Restored functionality utilizing Nirsoft MailPV.exe for mail password gathering functionality.  This was previously disabled when Nir updated the app to remove command line arguments, unless you had below a certain version of that .exe still in your .\3rd Party Tools directory.  Since then Nir has released new versions that re-enable command line arguments, but they must be downloaded from a password restricted area; d7x has been updated to download the new MailPV.exe from that area so it can once again function as previously expected.
  • New password protected download functionality was implemented for this feature, and although this is not yet available as a configurable option for other custom apps, expect that to be added to the custom apps configuration interface in a near future update.  

• d7x and d7xRDT Crash:  Fixed a scenario where a semi-random crash would occur for certain users/configurations when either starting d7x or when saving the Config.  Since the issue occurred during d7x startup, it was also seen when deploying from the d7x Remote Deployment Tool.
• d7x Slow to Close if…:  Fixed an issue causing d7x to close far more slowly depending on how long it was left running.  For example on an average system if left running on the tech bench over the weekend, it could take up to 5 minutes or more to close itself.  This was most notable when a self-restart or Windows restart was invoked from within d7x after it had run for an extended period of time, and mostly a problem for d7x cleanup routines if a Windows restart was invoked from outside of d7x (e.g. by the user or a custom app.)
• Info Report / Product Keys:  Fixed an issue which caused an error “system cannot find the path specified” when generating an Info Report, specifically during the “Getting Product Keys” routine.
• Client ID and Reports Directory:  Fixed:  Removed a temporary work-around (in place to resolve some FTP upload issues) which was creating these values after filtering out many non-alphanumeric characters, most visibly this replaced spaces with underscores.
• Client ID/Ticket Number:  Fixed:  The “Client Name” and “Ticket Number” used in reporting were set to default values with each restart of d7x after the first session start, or any time the session start prompt wasn’t shown.  This caused issues or failures in uploading reports using incorrect filenames particularly when uploading for PC Repair Tracker integration (unless prior to uploading reports you manually invoked the session start prompt by clicking the “# / Name” label on the System Info tab, which did reset these to the proper values.)
• Lock Screen:  Fixed Lock Screen interface not displaying the password prompt when the unlock button was clicked, and also not resizing to cover the entire screen.
• Config UI:  Fixed issue where all hovering the mouse over any checkbox on the “Behavior/Updates” tab always displayed the “Activation Check” details in the lower description pane instead of the details for that specific item.
• Config UI:  Fixed issue where search option on Custom Apps tab sometimes displayed results without the search term.
• FTP Upload Failure with Integrated Apps:  Fixed an issue where uploading from the Integrated Apps tab (under the Config -> Custom Apps tab) would fail to upload files such as dSupportSuiteSetup.zip; also the FTP Upload functionality now accepts .exe as well as .zip files as might be expected.
• Space Freed / 0 bytes:  The v18.3.x.x releases reported 0 bytes deleted during any Maintenance based operation or when temp files would be deleted; the 0 byte message applied to user interface prompts as well as the Work Report, but was not respective of the space that was actually freed (as all features were working properly, only the reporting of freed space was incorrect afterwards.)
• Disable Windows Defender:  Restored the functionality to disable Windows Defender (Config > Behavior tab > General Behavior section) which was not working properly depending on the build of Windows 10 and possibly 8.x as well, by implementing some new methodologies to accomplish the task.
• d7x Desktop Shortcut:  (Config -> Session) is now corrected automatically after updating to a new version of d7x (due to the differing filenames.)

• Offline mode functionality has been removed entirely pending a rewrite, and will be re-introduced in a future update as separated from the current main interface.  The visible Offline tab remains in the current build but functions as described below.
  • Offline mode functionality is used in working with OSes on partitions other than the active/system partition, e.g. from ‘Tech Bench’ PCs or WinPE boot disks.
  • Please continue to use d7II.exe for all Offline related functionality.  With each new launch/instance of d7x, on every first click of the Offline tab you will be prompted to run d7II instead (from d7x\d7IIv3) which will download as necessary.
  • NOTE:  dFunk (aka MalwareScan) is NOT affected, so it can be launched via d7x itself without issue, or as a separate exe it can be launched by itself from the d7x\Modules directory (you would then point it to an offline OS installation by selecting the desired partition’s drive letter from the drop down selection box.)

The ‘Fully Loaded’ SFX available for download from the d7x Additional Downloads section in your dMZ account has been updated to the latest version, and includes the latest Custom Apps configurations as well as some new custom Menu defaults for the d7x main interface (e.g. Links, Folders, Registry, Search.)

Please be aware this is a fully pre-populated and configured copy of d7x and is only for NEW configurations of d7x.  If you extract this to an existing d7x directory it will overwrite ANY existing configuration, including logo files, with the exception of your product registration and Technician Password.

If you wish to start over fresh using this configuration, it is highly recommended to extract this to a NEW directory and when running d7x for the first time, use the Browse button to import your existing Reg.Settings.dat file from an already registered copy of d7II or d7x, which contains your product registration and Technician Password.

Always remember:  If you run d7II or d7x on any system and do not use “End Session” to close it, running any subsequent d7x version from any other location will in turn launch the d7x .exe that was used to start the session, as well as use it’s configuration instead.  Always “End Session” when closing d7II or d7x on any PC you intend to use/configure multiple copies on, prior to launching the d7x .exe in any other location.

• New:  Technician Password correction!  When extracting an encrypted config archive, d7x will now prompt if the technician password (used for archive encryption) is incorrect, allowing the option to retry as many times as necessary.
  • Previously when encrypted config extraction failed due to an incorrect password, d7x was launched with blank config triggering a first-time registration prompt on launch.  This has actually been an issue since d7 Premium with dCloud, but rarely a problem since typically no one changes that password.
  • By having few options in d7/d7II/d7x that require it’s manual input, this is why it can easily be forgotten and not become an issue for quite some time.  It usually takes a new major release (d7II, and now d7x) when those opting for the “clean download/setup” can bring this on with new configs created using different technician passwords entered during the initial registration process.
• New:  d7xRDT v18.3.17.1 and above will self-update it’s own binary when deployed, to ensure server connectivity with updates as changes are required.
• Fixed:  Failure to run scripts within custom app configurations that used the %scriptdir% variable to point outside of the 3rd Party Tools directory.  Possibly other cases were an issue resulting from the bug.  Further, some custom apps were failing without a download URL being configured.
• Fixed:  d7x sometimes failed to restart itself along with Windows.  Previous versions ran shutdown code which removed the startup entry responsible for launching d7x after a Windows restart; this also stalled auto mode operation until d7x was manually launched again.
• Fixed:  Issues and failures related to reboot options to put Windows in Safe Mode, including a failure with the custom internal functionality “Safe Mode w/Networking Mod” which is now working properly.
• Fixed web links opening in the d7x internal browser despite being configured to use the system default web browser.
• Fixed:  Starting with d7x v18.3.16.0 and d7xRDT v18.3.17.1 self-updating is once again functional.  All previous versions will fail to establish secure communications with our servers after Feb. 26th, 2018.
• Change:  The d7x window’s title bar previously forced the version display, ignoring user preference (this is by design for TestBuild and FastTrack releases, but now temporarily removed in FastTrack versions until the first Release version follows soon.)
• Change:  d7x v18.3.16.0 to d7x v18.3.17.1 do not completely force shutdown/restarts but allow waiting for apps to close within the Windows configured hung app timeout value (after which the system shutdown/restart is forced.)  While this change is as much of a feature as an issue in some cases, in others it should be reverted back to the old behavior soon, or allow for user configuration/prompt.  (Feedback on this change is appreciated.)
• More was done, and more is to come…

• New:  Config > Personalize contains two new settings “Display Config Name in Title Bar” and just under it “Include Config Date” will display the current config name and date used in the Config Mgmt Portal
• Fixed:  The existing setting in Config > Personalize to “Display d7x Path in Title Bar” is now working again.
• Fixed:   “Full Auto Mode” may repeatedly reload default settings for the “Audit” tab if d7x or Windows restarts for any reason, and the mode has already progressed to another tabs; the effect would be that the checked items will run all over again.
• Fixed:  Zip reports for upload to FTP server (most notably used with PC Repair Tracker integration) may fail depending on your configuration.  The issue is resolved in our testing; please report any further issues.

• New: Automatically assigns %computername% as the client %name% used in reporting. As a result, uploading reports (to FTP) for the current session will succeed without error when a client %name% is not set from the new session dialog (this dialog should also now appear by default in unconfigured copies of d7x.)
• New: d7x FTP code replaces d7II FTP code for downloading custom apps stored on a self-hosted FTP server. (TODO: Replace report uploads still using d7II FTP code.)
• Change:  Various d7II-specific code has been replaced with d7x-based replacement code. Affected areas include manipulation of user profile directories by various procedures, loading/saving file data, loading/saving of (d7II compatible) d7x configuration settings, and more. Benefits include stability with improved error handling, and speed with fewer disk read and especially disk write operations.
• Change:  d7II v3.x files (when downloaded automatically) are now saved to the d7x\d7IIv3 subdir; the d7x\Config dir is also automatically copied there to separate config settings as d7x transitions to using newer features and settings not compatible with d7II.  We would prefer you to copy your d7x\Config dir to the d7x\d7IIv3 dir after settings changes in d7x (and also copy the d7x\Modules to d7x\d7IIv3 if definitions files are altered through d7x.)    See the “d7II v3.6.87 Update Information” section above for more details.
• Change:  The “Start Session” config option “Automatically generate System Info Report” now checks Windows Activation for the report, even when Windows activation checks on Vista and above are disabled (also changed to become the new default) when loading the System Info tab.
• Change:  Moving reports to a UNC path (via End Session tab/config) and emailing the reports are affected by new code replacements, which is in preparation for modifications and new functionality.
• Fixed:  Audit and Tweaks Auto Mode were previously bugged and never triggered the flag to signal that they had completed all tasks.  As a result, changing the Auto Mode profiles (top right selection box) would fail with a user prompt explaining to stop the current task before switching modes.
• Fixed:  KillEmAll (v5 internal) had improved kill routines that were terminating critical Windows 10 processes (one in particular caused UI issues in d7x, Windows itself, and other apps) therefore internal logic was improved/added for additional Windows 10 processes.
• Fixed:  Windows activation checks on Vista and above were occurring more than necessary; this is an issue on Vista and above because it is a slow process and causes the d7x UI to hang while it is running.
• Fixed:  Some web links initiated from d7x may prompt you twice before opening the link.
• Fixed:  Fab’s AutoBackup not launching AutoBackup6ProTrial.exe after download.  Improved detection of existing AutoBackup[x]Pro.exe files.
• Fixed:  Issue:  (Manual Resolution Available)  Fab’s AutoBackup button continues to launch the extract utility if any AutoBackup[x]ProTrial.exe files are found in a \3rd Party Tools subdir from previous d7II/d7x v17.x usage.  A fix is planned, but deleting the file will resolve the problem entirely, as well as enable the new Fab’s AutoBackup fixes to former functionality and new behaviors.  The issue is now resolved.
• Fixed:  When a system was configured to use more than two DNS servers, the display on the System Info tab was not truncating the display info.
  • Remaining Issue:  Unfortunately the hover tooltip and lower status display is not displaying the full list of DNS servers.
• Fixed:  Session start tasks were not running when launched from d7xRDT (Remote Deployment Tool) as configured, including asking for client name/ticket number, installing context menus for explorer, creating the desktop icon, correcting time zone, etc.
• Fixed:  Incorrect reporting of drive space freed by temp file and maintenance routines (most routines were reporting available space after the cleanup, not space freed by the cleanup!) 
• Fixed:  End Session tab settings not loading from the d7x safe mode UI, as well as (re)loading on the normal UI every time the tab is switched back to End Session, and reloading again when actually ending session if triggered from the top right red X button, but after the button is pressed, negating any manual/temporary config change you may have made on that tab previously.
• Fixed-ish:  Custom Apps and other integrated apps (e.g. Fab’s AutoBackup) stored on Self-Hosted FTP servers fail to download if located in the root FTP path (e.g. “/CustomApp.zip”) and not a subdir.
  • UPDATE:  See the first item in KNOWN ISSUES for a resolution.  

None are known at this time.

d7x generated sessions are no longer backwards compatible with d7II.exe in any version released after v18.9.7.1 (this backwards compatibility was previously maintained for d7II to pick up where d7x left off in the event of a crash, however there has been no need for this behavior since the earliest TestBuild releases.)

Update Failure:  d7x v18.7.4.x may not update due to an authentication failure, but regardless it will attempt to do so upon seeing a required update.  To resolve, simply replace the main exe with the current one which can be downloaded in the d7x Manual at the top of the page.

Update Failure:  d7x v18.2.3.0 [TestBuild] and all previous versions will no longer self-update or recognize update availability.  The issue also causes failure when launching any d7xRDT packages created with this and previous versions of d7x.  See this post for details.  

The Check for Updates option on the Main menu may appear to do nothing (though it does actually check for updates.)  Upon finding an update, it may fail to prompt you to actually perform the update, or update if prompted, however it should automatically update upon restarting d7x.  There is still currently no option to avoid updating once an update is found.

Offline tab functionality (other than Malware Search Tool/dFunk) has been removed entirely pending a rewrite, and will be re-introduced in a future update as separated from the current main interface.  The visible Offline tab remains in the current build but functions as described below.

Offline mode functionality is used in working with OSes on partitions other than the active/system partition, e.g. from ‘Tech Bench’ PCs or WinPE boot disks.

Please continue to use d7II.exe for all Offline related functionality.  With each new launch/instance of d7x, on every first click of the Offline tab you will be prompted to run d7II instead (from d7x\d7IIv3) which will download as necessary.

NOTE:  Malware Search Tool 3000 (aka dFunk) is NOT affected, so it can be launched via d7x itself without issue.

FTP and Email settings are no longer backwards compatible with d7II when configured from d7x.  This is due to new features added in both areas of functionality, and a new configuration storage format was added to complement the current and future new settings and expanded functionality.  Regardless, d7II should only be used specifically for Offline functionality as noted above.

Issue:  Several child windows in d7x (e.g. the internal KillEmAll) may fail to display your customized icon in the top left corner (meaning the 16×16 pixel ICO, not the larger BMP logos…) even though it appears in the main and most other d7x windows.

Notice:  Although the “Installed Date” value on the System Info tab is reported correctly in Windows 10, the value itself is now modified during every major Windows 10 update.  We are investigating other methods to obtain the original installation date, and plan to update the interface accordingly (with this field reflecting the last major update on Windows 10.)

d7x lower status bar may not return to “Idle…” status after performing certain actions (the last status message remaining on the screen.)

d7x lower status bar may report “Idle…” when busy (or an idle/display message) during an Auto Mode.  Specifically, Malware Auto Mode configurations using KillEmAll settings/options at the top can trigger this behavior, though it may also be caused by various other reasons in any Auto Mode.

Subsequently, clicking anywhere within a d7x based user interface will trigger the “Not Responding…” Windows message.  In this case, d7x isn’t updating the user interface appropriately, which causes both the status bar “Idle…” message as well as the Windows/app unresponsive behavior when the user initiates any type of interaction with one of d7x’s windows.

Please be assured that d7x is most likely doing what it should be, and therefore d7x should be left undisturbed for a reasonable amount of time (even in a state where the user interface is unresponsive) based on the last action performed or desired, in order to determine if there is any issue (beyond the broken UI status update.)

New ‘Config Mgmt Portal‘ (first item under the ‘Server’ menu) combines the separate dCloud/Self-Hosted FTP portals from d7II, and rewrites all server communication functionality with regard to config sets and definitions.  d7x v18.3.16.0 and above add user prompts if the technician password (used for archive encryption) is incorrect, allowing the option to retry as many times as necessary before failing.

New d7x Remote Deployment Tool (aka ‘d7xRDT’) can be created in the Config Mgmt Portal (above.)  d7xRDT is the new implementation of d7II’s ‘SFX Mini‘, and is re-coded from the ground up.  Although a little larger than before, it does enable more functionality.  While some new features are technically still on hold, this release adds a few improvements (over d7II SFX Mini functionality):

• New password prompt option during initial extraction prevents unauthorized usage of the Remote Deployment Tool without requiring password protected startup on the d7x .exe itself.
• Created using your custom branded application icon (as configured in d7x/d7II, else the default applogo.ico is used)
• Using elastic IPs in place of hostnames to resolve dCloud connectivity issues in situations where a particular ISP creates an issue with DNS or hostname based filtering.
• Capable of connecting to a d7x based “dCloud” server (not yet implemented) which uses SSL communications and can use HTTPS for login and uploading, allowing full dCloud communication, while bypassing any network restrictions on FTP protocols even over SSL channels.
• New in v18.3.x.x:  Technician Password correction!  When extracting an encrypted config archive, d7x will now prompt if the technician password (used for archive encryption) is incorrect, allowing the option to retry as many times as necessary.
  • Previously when encrypted config extraction failed due to an incorrect password, d7x was launched with blank config triggering a first-time registration prompt on launch.  This has actually been an issue since d7 Premium with dCloud, but rarely a problem since typically no one changes that password.
  • By having few options in d7/d7II/d7x that require it’s manual input, this is why it can easily be forgotten and not become an issue for quite some time.  It usually takes a new major release (d7II, and now d7x) when those opting for the “clean download/setup” can bring this on with new configs created using different technician passwords entered during the initial registration process.
• Note d7xRDT only works with d7x and is not actually able to download d7II.exe, so it cannot serve as a replacement for the current d7II SFX Mini to deploy d7II remotely.  

Config/definition storage and sync (dCloud/Self-Hosted FTP) functionality has been replaced entirely with new d7x code, and include a few minor new additions to the user experience, as evidenced by the optional startup prompt shown here.

This d7II feature is used to merge definitions when starting a new session, and in d7x it was expanded to offer a download only option, and a description of what the “merge” actually does.  When a config on the server is newer, this is also be an option within the same user prompt.

Note:  The data crunching part of the definitions “merge” is still handled by d7II code (in fact via the dFunk.exe module) as before, but d7II.exe’s involvement in determining updates, retrieving the current defs, and putting updates back on the server was replaced entirely with new d7x code.

KillEmAll v5 has been integrated into the core d7x binary, replacing the previous d7II based version of the program.  (It has not been included as a separate/stand-alone executable.)  

• Fixed:  improved kill routines were terminating critical Windows 10 processes (one in particular caused UI issues in d7x, Windows itself, and other apps) therefore internal logic was improved/added for additional Windows 10 processes.
• New:  should correctly save logs to the d7II Reports directory.  This may does not yet include automated saving of file details when viewed through the file inspection window.
• Previous d7II/KillEmAll options for ‘Google’ web searches, VirusTotal uploads, file deletions/renames, etc. etc. are not yet available through the interface or the through the file inspection window.
• The previous ‘Suspicious Files’ search is also not available, but a more complete implementation (file system scan only) is found in d7II’s dFunk module used for manual inspection of the file system and registry.
• The previous version of KillEmAll with most of these missing features is still automatically downloaded as a separate exe along with other d7II modules, but the separate exe is and has always been a slightly older implementation of the internal version used in the last version of d7II, and will miss any included automatic reporting features through d7II.
• KillEmAll v5 also uses a new engine for user-created definitions enabling some new possibilities, see these pages for more:
  • Wildcard Usage in d7x / KillEmAll v5
  • Rule Variables for d7x / KillEmAll v5 / CryptoPrevent v8 

• Added:  Support for Windows 10 (minor differences from Windows 8.x) in “Restore Default Start Menu LNKs” repair functionality.
• Added:  Windows 10 to custom app platform/OS restriction settings.  If not configured, behavior should not change.  Backwards compatibility note:  This is the only area in d7x configurations where d7II may (and likely will) erase the setting entirely when used to edit the same custom app configuration.
• Added:  Windows 10 recognition on System Info tab (also resolving the annoyance of the Windows 8.1 Update 1/not installed alert on Windows 10)
• Removed:  “Automatic Updates are Disabled” check from startup alerts on Windows 10, since the update setting (and it’s associated Windows user dialog) no longer exist in Windows 10.

• UTC Adjustment settings no longer necessary; removed from Config > Regional Settings (on first tab.)  These were previously used in converting various dates from UTC, such as Windows event log entries when viewed through the internal d7x Event Viewer.
• Automated time zone changes now function properly with ALL Windows versions when configured; setting in Config > Regional Settings (on first tab.)  Previously automation was unsupported only on Windows Vista.
• Automatic correction of the desktop shortcut target for the reports path (when optionally created during Start Session) if the reports path changes for any reason during the session…
• Screen saver prevention and certain other configuration settings now reflect config changes without requiring d7x to be restarted (improved from d7II)

Some issues discovered may or may not have been known in the final release of d7II v3.6.86, but were discovered while investigating ported code… 

• Fixed method of launching the Windows “About” dialog which caused scrambled text in the native Windows prompt (this is launched when clicking the “Installed Date” area on the System Info tab.)
• Fixed a minor issue where system restore points created from the “Windows” drop down menu were created using a generic name, not the one you typed in the prompt.
• Fixed dUninstaller bug:  failure to apply the proper silent uninstall switches when processing installers created by Inno Setup.
• Fixed DataGrab bug:  failed to create a registry export of ODBC settings from an offline OS/partition in some circumstances.
• Fixed issue in multiple functions used for both active and offline OS partitions, where a 64bit OS partition may not have been detected properly affecting functionality dealing with directory structures such as “Program Files” vs. “Program Files (x86)”

d7II.exe has been updated to v3.6.87 (version increment only) to satisfy future notification prompts, and made available for use as a backup in the event of d7x failure.  This should be done automatically when updating to d7x from d7II.exe, but if you aren’t updating from d7II you can always download this via the prompt using the d7x “Main” menu > “Check for Updates” option, or use this link.

UPDATE:  Some users have reported d7II.exe as zero byte after an update to d7x is initiated from within d7II; in this event, please delete the zero byte file and then re-download d7II.exe via the method above.

We now prefer d7II to reside in a .\d7IIv3 subdirectory from the main d7x folder (wherever your d7x vx.x.x.x.exe resides.)  Prior to the first time usage of d7II.exe, the .\Config directory should be copied into .\d7IIv3 directory, and if configuration changes were made through d7x that would affect d7II operation, the same should be done when starting a new session from d7II.  Copying the .\Config directory should not be necessary if it was done at least once at any point in time (unless d7x registration/account changes were made), or if you are resuming a previous session started by d7x.