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.NET Forum / .NET Framework / CLR / November 2005Non-internet application wants to connect over internet
I have a little desktop application (it happens to be a Windows Forms analog clock) that's written in VB.Net (2003). I placed a shortcut in my Startup program group to start it up when I log on. I have put no code in the application whatsoever to do internet communications, and yet when it starts up at logon I've begun getting notification dialogs from my software firewall that the app wants to connect to the internet. It doesn't happen when the app has been freshly rebuilt, but after a few days or so it starts to try to connect and thereafter tries again each time the app is started up. Thinking that I might have acquired some new kind of virus that attaches itself to .Net executables, I made a note of the file size and the 'last modified' date after a fresh build, and then checked it again after the executable started wanting to connect to the internet. No changes. Norton AntiVirus 2003 with the most recent updates shows a clean scan. I always tell the firewall (Norton Personal Firewall 2003) to block the communication, and the application continues to execute normally. Has anyone else seen similar behavior in non-communications-enabled applications, or know of anything that might shed some light on this behavior? Thanks, Tom Dacon Dacon Software Consulting Tom, I really don't know for sure, but this is the first thing that comes to mind. Did you use any 3rd party components when writing your clock app? I have heard of some 3rd party components calling home for license verification when on the development machine. If you used a 3rd party component, and ran the program on the development machine (even outside the IDE), the development license could be found on the machine and applied, thus wanting the internet. The only way to be sure is to contact the vendor and hope they don't lie. Although if you haven't used any 3rd party components, then obviously the above is not the case. And if you did - it does not explain why your app only starts this strange behaviour a few days later.... Wayne P. > I have a little desktop application (it happens to be a Windows Forms analog > clock) that's written in VB.Net (2003). I placed a shortcut in my Startup [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Tom Dacon > Dacon Software Consulting A good point, and one that didn't occur to me, but in this case there's no third-party component being used in the application. It's based on some sample code from Microsoft - I don't remember exactly where I got it; maybe it was a framework sample or something, and it's all just plain vanilla VB.Net and framework classes. However, I've modified it to use the Microsoft Office 11 Object Library (Office 2003), in order to interrogate the user's (my) Outlook appointments calendar. Periodically I get the appointments from Office and display on the clock face little icons that represent the starting time of the appointments, with tooltips that display the details. I suppose it's remotely possible that somehow I'm 'waking up' Outlook, and it's going out to try to download email, but it sounds pretty unlikely. And of course, as you say, none of this explains why it starts behaving this way only after the passage of some time. A puzzle. Thanks for your comments. Tom Dacon Dacon Software Consulting > Tom, > [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > Tom Dacon > > Dacon Software Consulting Tom, I'm not an Office / Outlook / VBA expert - but your thought on the email gave me an idea - is your calendar setup via an Exchange server at all? Perhaps the query of calendar items is causing this. I'm thinking that some of the calendar items may be cached, but a few days later the cache expires or new appointments are made that need downloaded, thus wanting a remote connection (internet) to the exchange server. Of course, this is all pure speculation. I don't know - hopefully someone else will chime in.... Good luck! Wayne P. > A good point, and one that didn't occur to me, but in this case there's no > third-party component being used in the application. It's based on some [quoted text clipped - 72 lines] > > > Tom Dacon > > > Dacon Software Consulting Hi, Where its trying to connect? If it's an IP do a tracert and see if you determine where it goes. cheers,  SignatureIgnacio Machin, ignacio.machin AT dot.state.fl.us Florida Department Of Transportation > I have a little desktop application (it happens to be a Windows Forms analog > clock) that's written in VB.Net (2003). I placed a shortcut in my Startup [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Tom Dacon > Dacon Software Consulting Tracecert...OK, I'll go find about that tool and see what it shows me. Thanks, Tom Dacon "Ignacio Machin ( .NET/ C# MVP )" <ignacio.machin AT dot.state.fl.us> wrote > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Tom Dacon > > Dacon Software Consulting I don't know how Norton Personal Firewall works, but it seems likely that it would block the network request until you choose to permit or deny the access. In that case, you should just be able to attach a debugger while Norton is waiting for a response from you and look through the threads until you find one thats trying to do some network access. The call statck should indicate who is responsible. The network access could be from managed or unmanaged code, so if you don't see it when doing managed-only debugging, you should try either interop debugging (managed + native in VStudio), or native only debugging. If Norton causes the network request to just fail (instead of waiting for a allow/deny response from you - this seems unlikely to me), then you may not see any threads doing any network access when you attach. You could still set breakpoints at common networking functions (eg. WSAConnect), and wait for them to be hit. Rick SignatureThis posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. -------------------- > I have a little desktop application (it happens to be a Windows Forms analog > clock) that's written in VB.Net (2003). I placed a shortcut in my Startup [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Tom Dacon > Dacon Software Consulting START YOUR OWN E-MAIL BUSINESS TODAY and TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1.ALL CUSTOMERS PAY YOU IN CASH!!! 2. TOP PART-TIME OWNERS HAVE EARNED $5,000+ IN ONE MONTH! 3. TOP FULL-TIME OWNERS HAVE EARNED $10,000+ IN ONE MONTH! 4. YOU WILL SELL A PRODUCT WHICH COSTS NOTHING TO PRODUCE! 5. YOUR MAIN OVERHEAD IS YOUR TIME! 6. 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