Patcher part... I lost count :(

[Larus-Fel]

umm... err... has anyone helped with Blue's problem?... outta curiousity.. i miss the big guy [:'(]

[Dennett-TG]

right click on that icon you use to start the game, and pick properties. You should see something like this.


http://horizons.istaria.com

change that to

https://horizons.istaria.com


That stops the annoying pop-up!

[cpltom]

ok , one more time I CAN NOT GET IN WITH THAT NEW PATCHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[imported_tjl]

I had no issues getting the active x to load when I accessed my character, if you have that problem, try turning off all firewalls running on your computer. This includes the windows firewall that came with service pack 2. You can turn it off by going to control panel > Windows Firewall and turning it off. Also you may need to adjust your security settings in Intenet Explorer to get it to load properly. That is all the insight I can give for that issue.

As for the "Error on page" problem, Dennett finally got it working for me in IRC today.

If you get this error, make extra sure that you do not have the .NET framework version 2.0 beta. I didn't even know I had .NET 2.0, because it must have been installed by another program. You can check this by going to the control panel > add remove programs. If version 2.0 is on there, you will for the meantime have to un-install it to get the launcher to run. And as the devs have stated before, you must have the .NET framework version 1.1

I hope this helps a few of you getting that "error on page" thing.

[BKBanzai]

Well...

I have same problem I did on previous 2 attempted patcher releases (yes, I put in a trouble ticket).

I have .NET 1.1
am administrator
https://horizons.istaria.com is on trusted

and I get the warning on my IE bar saying it's blocked an active x component, yada yada yada, etc. etc. etc.

and then that oh so informative message saying that I need to have Tulga games trusted, be admin and have .net 1.1

hmnnn....

[imported_Leannae]

I've never had a problem with any of the patchers until today. At first it seemed all was well, until I had to doa cold boot and got "error on page" when I tried to log in. I had to use the old patcher to get back into the game but each time I logged out, it would default to the new patcher. So, I decided to try something and delete the Launcher filefolder in my Horizon's directory along with the caspol.bat, AEPatcher.dll, and SilentPatcher.exe which were in my Horizon's root in addition to the Launcher filefolder. After logging in again with the new patcher I got curious and checked my Horizon's directory. The 3 above mentioned items were no longer in my Horizon's root. I'm not certain if this will help anyone try and figure out if it works for them or not, but since deleting those 3 files from my Horizon's root and letting the patcher do it's thing, I've had no further problems.

Hope this bit of info helps someone.

[Theolaerynn]

I don't understand why, of all the bugs and lack of content, *this* is the thing taking up dev resources. Let me explain something that I doubt I am the only one to feel this way:

I will NOT eviscerate my security settings any more than they already are simply to play Horizons. I love the game, I love my Dragon, but certain things I will not compromise on and I have already been asked to do too much.

Fix the new patcher or abandon it, but quit harassing us like this or I will just leave again. There is just no reason this game should still be in beta 14 months in, and there is certainly no excuse for you guys to keep friggin poking us! Fix stuff for a change, without breaking other stuff!

[Theolaerynn]

Therefore I have to conclude that the current problems are not being caused by an unsigned active X control (else the patcher wouldn't load on my comp), and are not being caused by security issues in the majority of cases. TulgAE's instuctions on how to set security to allow their active X downloader to activate were fine, if not detailed enough for someone who didn't know what they were doing.

Would these be the same security instructions that basically said that any script kiddie old enough to read would be allowed to use your computer as their personal playground? It is already bad enough we are using IE at all. Granted, the 6 people that still play horizons aren't a big enough target to attract attackers yet, but if things go well we may someday be big enough to be a more amicable target.

Also, your assumptions are based on incomplete test cases. As any software developer knows, there are a very wide range of factors that affect testing, any one of which can expose a bug in a specific piece of code that no other configuration will run in to. I guarantee your system is not indicitive of the rest of the players systems, there are too many variables. I knowfor a fact that your system isn't set up like mine, for instance. While it is mathmatically possible you have the same developer tools and specific security patches, Windows version and service pack level, and hardware firewall with identical settings, I know our various Windows security settings are not the same. You have fallen into the same trap as a lot of developers. I can relate to AE's frustration in this, because troubleshooting this stuff with limited to no access to the computers having issues makes it a nightmare to diagnose.

That being said, before you pitch into a 'why AE must do it this way' speach, consider that EQ and EQ2 patch just fine without any security setting changes of any kind. I love Horizons, and I love my Dragon, but I am already being asked to tolerate more than I should be with already poor security and 14 paid months of beta.

AE needs to get a clue and fix stuff that will keep players and perhaps attract new ones, and stop breaking the few things that at least sort of worked.

[Stranyr]

It occurs to me that some DSL routers with firewall have options in them to enable/disable Active X control passthrough, It may only be a few people that have routers with that capability, but if you do have a hardware firewall you might want to check for that option.

:)

[cpltom]

In most of these threads I see people telling us who are having trouble to " help the dev's " and to give them the info they need to corect the problem.

Well , one thing wrong with that. most of us are not as computer savy as you !!, I have no idea what all these ******** files you are talking about are, and there is no way I am going to go in and deleat or move stuff !!!

So far I have had to take my computer in for service because of this STUPID new patcher TWICE.I am not going to do it again.

I can tell the developers that something in this .net frame thing causes my computer to crash. THERE IS NO WAY I AM GOING TO DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL IT AGAIN !!!!!!!!

FIND ANOTHER PATCHER

[Scarn_de_Diabolic]

Well I have a Dlink D-604 router and have setup 20-21 65003-65050, udp 47101-47104, udp 47701-44704 and still can't get the new patcher working. All it says is done with errors.

[Kulamata]

That udp 47701-44704 looks suspiciously like a typo. Perhaps 47701-47704 or 44xxx-44xxx. I filed a ticket, inquiring as to whether this might be a typo.

[Theolaerynn]

If you are behind a Router and Firewall please have these ports on your firewall opened; 20-21,65003-65050, udp 47101-47104, udp 47701-44704

This just keeps getting more assinine by the minute. Shall we just unhook from the router, turn off all anti-virus and anti-spyware software as well? You know how those things can be. Especially with poorly coded software.

Hey, maybe we can broadcast our IPs while we are at it.

This patcher has been a stelar use of resources.

[Scarn_de_Diabolic]

You're correct was a typo changed it to 47704 works like a champ now!



BAH! was wrong didn't fix it it just switched accidentally back to old patcher lol. [:@]

[Theolaerynn]

[img]/Web/Themes/Generic/images/icon-quote.gif[/img]Theolaerynn wrote: This just keeps getting more assinine by the minute. Shall we just unhook from the router, turn off all anti-virus and anti-spyware software as well?Because both Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware software cause delays indownloading and uploading (as they scan every file before it is allowed to go up/down stream) it is recommended for ALL online games that you turn them off before entering the game. This is simply common sense. In the case of HZ this isn't too great because we use a IE as the launcher:-/. But really, you should turn them off. You will have a 5-20 FPS increase depending on the software you are using, and how thoroughly it checks files.

*laugh!* Yes, this is all true about the anti-virus / anti-spyware. But it has been statistically shown that the combination of taking down your firewall (hardware, in my case) and your virus and anti-spyware protection will not just leave you vulnerable, but on average it will take only a bit over 4 minutes for your machine to get infected.

Given that we already have to take down our virus and spyware protection, blasting a big hole in our firewall by opening that port range is ludicrous.

[Scarn_de_Diabolic]

Finally got the New Patcher to work for me! Since I use Software requiring the .Net Framework 2.0 I added this.

Problem: .NET Framework 2.0 Beta Installed Details: Because the .NET framework 2.0 is still in Beta, the patcher does not applythe requiredupdates to the framework. Frequency: Rare Symptoms: 1) An Error occurs on the page. Line 213, stating, among other things, that there was a registry permissions error. Fix: Remove .NET framework 2.0 from you computer, or browse (using CMD.exe, a dos window)to the folder containing the 2.0 Beta Framework and enter the following three lines, hitting enter after each one. caspol.exe -q -machine -addgroup All_Code -site horizons.istaria.com FullTrust -name ArtifactCG -d "Artifact Entertainment Code Group to execute User Controls in Internet Explorer"
caspol.exe -q -machine -addgroup All_Code -site 68.142.64.215 FullTrust -name ArtifactCG -d "Artifact Entertainment Code Group to execute User Controls in Internet Explorer"
caspol.exe -q -machine -addgroup All_Code -site 68.142.64.212 FullTrust -name ArtifactCG -d "Artifact Entertainment Code Group to execute User Controls in Internet Explorer"

Works like a champ now!

[Zarcharien]

Always Remember:

- If anything CAN go wrong, IT WILL.

- If anything CAN'T go wrong, IT WILL.

and don't forget ...

- The probability of something going wrong increases in proportion to the inconvenience it is likely to cause.

So set back, [:)], and have a wonderful day.

[Bori Grimbattle]

I cannot relax. Something went wrong with the above message and I am unable to read it. Woe is me! Everything just went dark when I tried to see what it said! Something is wrong..very wrong.

[Theolaerynn]

Ok, my source for the 4 minutes did not give very detailed numbers, and after a little more research I suspect it was a typo and supposed to be 40. But since SANS is one of the leaders in the industry for this anyway, take a look at this:

The average survival time for an unprotected networked computer dropped from 40 minutes to 20 minutes over the last year, according to the SANS Institute of Bethesda, Md.

That means that an unprotected PC can expect to become infected by a worm within 20 minutes of being connected to an unprotected network.

?The actual time it will take for a specific computer to be compromised will vary widely depending on any filters applied by the Internet Service Provider and the configuration of the operating system,? the institute said.

But the trend reflects the narrowing window of opportunity for users to adequately protect networked computers from known vulnerabilities.

Survival time is figured from daily reports submitted to SANS? Internet Storm Center by volunteers in 70 countries. ISC receives more than 1 billion reports of probes each month from organizations that manage more than 500,000 Internet addresses. The 20-minute figure represents the overall average time between probes on a targeted PC.

Actual probe activity varies over time and according to the level of protection a network provides its users. For instance, users with ISPs that block ports commonly used by worms will have longer survival times.

Monthly averages reported by ISC over the past year ranged from a high of 65 minutes in December 2003 to a low of 15 minutes in April and May. Over the last month, average survival time bottomed out at less than 14 minutes on July 19 and 26, and peaked at about 22 minutes Aug. 1.

To help users protect themselves from online attacks, SANS has published a free survival guide for users of Windows XP. It is available at the SANS Reading Room; click here.

The guide, ?Windows XP: Surviving the first day,? leads users through safe procedures for configuring hardware and software on a new PC and connecting with a network.

And for those talking about what a low risk it is to put things on Trusted Lists, it isn't insurmountable (although doubtfuly worth the effort at the moment) to take advantage of that to take advantage of this little gem:

MS05-013: Vulnerability in the DHTML Editing Component ActiveX Control Could Allow Remote Code Execution (891781)
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec.../ms05-013.mspx

A vulnerability exists in the DHTML Editing Component ActiveX Control. This vulnerability could allow information disclosure or remote code execution on an affected system. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by constructing a malicious Web page that could potentially allow remote code execution if a user visited that page. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system.

Affected Software:
Windows 2000 SP3 and SP4
XP SP1 and SP2
XP 64-Bit Edition Service Pack 1 (Itanium)
XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003 (Itanium)
Windows Server 2003
Server 2003 for Itanium-based Systems
Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows Millennium Edition

Mitigation: Ensure HTML e-mail is opened in the Restricted sites zone if using Outlook Express 6, Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002, and Outlook 2003. Run IE with the Enhanced Security Configuration enabled on Server 2003 systems XPsp2 Systems should ensure that IE is operating in the Local Machine Lockdown Zone. For details see:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/security/p...llockdown.aspx

Related CVE ID: CAN-2004-1319:
http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cve...=CAN-2004-1319

Just some light reading, since it was sort of requested :)

[Theolaerynn]

Oh, and there are other ActiveX vulnerabilities that could be exploited in similar ways that Microsoft does not have patches out for yet, and in at least one case I am not aware of Microsoft even admitting to the vulnerability dispite SANS having 100% repeatable steps to exploit it. I could absolutely be mistaken, but I certainly have not seen anything indicating MS has aknowleged or fixed it.