Phantasm Posted March 28, 2013 Hello all, My SUPERAntiSpyware Pro crashes while scanning my external Seagate 3TB external drive. I have tried Low Boost, High Boost, Safe Mode (with no networking), uninstall / reinstall several times using both Add/Remove Programs and the SAS uninstall tool. It's a USB 3.0 drive plugged into a USB 3.0 port. I have also switched it to a USB 2.0 port but still crashing. Scanning the C:\ works just fine. It starts scanning the external for a minute or so and then it wants to send a report to SUPERAntiSpyware support. From there, it ask if I want to restart SUPERAntiSpyware. Either way, the app just closes after that. Any ideas folks? Thank you, Phantasm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SAS Customer Service Posted March 28, 2013 Verify that you are using version 5.6.1014 and try these:Open SUPERAntiSpyware, select a Complete Scan then click on 'Scan Your Computer' - this will open a scan options window. In the lower right corner of this window is an option that says 'Scan Inside Zip Files' - please UNCHECK this. Exit SUPERAntiSpyware by right-clicking the bug icon and clicking "Exit," then restart it and run a scan.If that doesn't fix it, try this:Open SUPERAntiSpyware, click on Preferences, go to the Scanning Control tab, and then UNCHECK the 2nd to last, 3rd to last, and 4th to last options in the list -- they will be named 'Kernel Direct File', 'Kernel Direct Registry' and 'Direct Disk'. Please UNCHECK these. Exit SUPERAntiSpyware by right-clicking the bug icon and clicking "Exit," then restart it and run a scan. If neither works, create a support ticket at www.superantispyware.com/csr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phantasm Posted March 30, 2013 I was able to narrow it down to the "Use Direct Disk Access" option. I unchecked this and I am now able to scan my external drive. Thank you for your assistance on this. I really appreciate it. I have to ask though, what does "Use Direct Disk Access" do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SAS Customer Service Posted March 30, 2013 You can read about those options here:https://www.superantispyware.com/WebHelp/Scanning_Control.htm They will not work on every system and should be disabled if an issue arises. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phantasm Posted March 31, 2013 It reads: Use Direct Disk Access "This option allows SUPERAntiSpyware to bypass the Windows API and access the disk directly so that no file can "hide" from being scanned. This currently works for NTFS volumes only". If I'm reading this correctly, this is a problem that really needs attention. Basically, this is a security hole and should be fixed. Soon !!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GuiltySpark Posted March 31, 2013 Why is it a Security Hole ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Phantasm Posted April 1, 2013 It tells you in the description. Not checking Use Direct Disk Access will not allow SAS to bypass the Windows API and access the disk directly. Therefore files may hide from being scanned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites