Hello Compatriots,

This is to announce that version 5.07 of SARApAid has been released.

Version 5.07 does not add any program features or address any bugs, but instead addresses some installation issues.

The first installation change is a tweak to help ensure that the Help system is properly installed.  If you keep getting a web page when you attempt to open the Help system, then this update is for you.

The second installation change is to add SARApAid to the approved application list in case you are using the Windows Defender Controlled Folder Access feature.  If you turn this feature on without this upgrade, you might get a "Runtime error 76" on program start and then the program will be closed.

Many of the third party anti-virus programs are also adding code which mimics the Windows Controlled Folder Access feature, and this causes a Catch-22 issue in that these features will attempt to block program operation and/or installation and this can't be fixed until the new version of the program is installed...there is more information on how to bypass Windows blocking actions on the Downloads page of the web site (see link below).

If you get an anti-virus program warning when you attempt to upgrade, you may need to select (in the case of Norton/Symantec products, which may be the most prevalent) a "more information" link in the warning dialog box and then click an "Exclude Process" button or "Trust now" link to allow the installation to continue.

In some cases, if you attempt to use the Update Wizard, you may get a "Problem accessing update files" message in SARApAid which will prevent the automatic upgrade process.  If this is the case on your machine, go to this page on the Cox SoftWare web site - http://www.coxsoftware.com/download.htm, scroll down to the very bottom of the page, and click on the "download SARApAid version 5.07" link to download/install the software (you'll probably still see plenty of alarms along the way but at least you can get the update started this way).

Why is all of this effort needed lately?  Anti-virus programs, including Windows Defender, are getting more and more picky about what they consider suspicious activity.  This is good when a program has bad intentions, but it is bad when dealing with a program that you want to use, such as SARApAid.  SARApAid has code that is used to access the internet via FTP processes.  This code allows the convenient Update, License, and Repair Wizards to operate.  Additional code allows you to attach applications to emails and to create emails of bug reports, etc.  Anti-virus programs can detect this code, but they can't determine if the code is to be used for good or bad, hence all of the dire warnings which you need to bypass in order to get the software to install and work.  The only alternative would be to eliminate these features from the software.

Sincerely,

Ray Cox
Cox SoftWare