Fences Crashes on startup

from Stardock Forums

Ok, I've read all the posts about this problem.  I am getting the same thing.  On startup, Fences announces that it has been disabled "because Explorer wasn't stopped properly" And if you try to re-enable it, or *gasp* create a Fence it crashes. 

Been using Fences for a long time now.  Very satisfied with it up to now.  But my computer was recently upgraded to Win10 and these issues appeared. 

I even purchased Fences 3.09 to see if it was incompatibility with old software.  I tried everything in the forum related to this problem (i.e. clean install, scannnow, etc.).  Then I figured I should check my Task List to see if the company was using WebSense or Forcepoint.  Turns out we are. 

I'd like to be using Fences at this point in time on this computer, but my understanding is that there is no fix for my current situation. 

It would have been nice if I knew that Fences was incompatible with Win10 with Forcepoint running.  But nothing on the sales sheets indicated this.  I spent actual money on an upgrade I can't use.

Please update your sales documentation.  And please let me know when I can expect to get a version of Fences that I can use.  And if no fix for this problem is pending, please consider refunding my purchase.  I don't know what the difficulties are in fixing this, but perhaps an impact to management's bottom line might generate some kind of response. 

Any response would be welcome.  But it seems that the Forcepoint issue is suspiciously generating deliberate silence. 

fences
31,916 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,

I have forwarded your report to the Stardock support team for their review and recommendations.

Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates.

We really do appreciate your feedback, thanks.

 

AzDude
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

I have this exact same problem. It seems to occur when I change the display theme under personalization to run a slide show of standard windows backgrounds. I have the latest Fences software. I uninstalled and reinstalled Fences. I rebooted the laptop several times. When I disabled the slide show and went back to a single fixed background, the problem stopped.

Running Windows 10pro

i7-8650 cpu 1.90GHZ RAM 16GB 64-bit No pen or touch input screen

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Fences - Organize your desktop icons today!
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble.

  Then I figured I should check my Task List to see if the company was using WebSense or Forcepoint.  Turns out we are. 
End of quote

I am afraid there is nothing we can do about that - it seems it is their issue to fix.

----------------
Sean Drohan
Stardock Customer Service Manager

Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting AuthorGregLundberg, reply 2

I have this exact same problem. It seems to occur when I change the display theme under personalization to run a slide show of standard windows backgrounds.
End of AuthorGregLundberg's quote

 WebSense or Forcepoint?
End of quote

Are you also using WebSense or Forcepoint? If so, please see my post above.

I can run native Windows Slideshow and not have Windows / Fences. crash on two different PCs (one being on the fast ring).

Perhaps a clean boot is in order:

https://forums.stardock.com/486084/fences-support-faq#cleanboot

----------------
Sean Drohan
Stardock Customer Service Manager

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

First to be clear, are you saying it is their issue to fix and not an issue that needs to be fixed over there?

Second did you even notice the part where I say I paid actual money for an upgrade I can't use?  No comments on that?  Really?  Because that's the real issue here. 

First I request that you make it clear to future buyers of your product that your product is (and will remain until further notice) incompatible with systems running Forcepoint or WebSense.  Second, I request that you post instructions on how to check if your system is running one of these programs.  Third, I request that these warning be prominently displayed prior to users spending actual money.  Fourth, I request that the cryptic warning message be changed to something more understandable.  Such as, "Fences is incompatible with this system because Forcepoint or Websense is running".  

And do you see where I'm going here?  I don't believe that it is good business practice to state that "This software will not work on your system because some other program is messing it up"  and "We are not able to fix this problem because it is someone else's problem really."

If that is the attitude you are going to take you might as well take the damn thing off the market because ultimately your developers need some serious reeducation.  

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top

michaelstoddard,

A list of antivirus apps causing problems with a plethora of other non-Stardock software would be VAST.  A Google search would expose as much.  To date, we are only aware of Forcepoint that causes Fences to fail.  AVG, Norton, ESET, they all work fine with Fences. 

As you said in just a post or so ago:

Been using Fences for a long time now.  Very satisfied with it up to now.
End of quote

And to be clear, and honest, Forcepoint is only seen in a super minority of our clientbase.


Second did you even notice the part where I say I paid actual money for an upgrade I can't use? 
End of quote

I would gladly offer you a refund, Michael, if that is what you are asking for - we would never have you pay for something you can't use if Forcepoint is your choice over Fences.

Please let me know your choice and I am sorry your experience was poor.

----------------
Sean Drohan
Stardock Customer Service Manager

 

Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

I don't particularly want a refund.  What I WANT is the functionality that Fences provides.  Apparently you all have no desire to accommodate me (and anyone else working at this company) by creating an update to Fences that works with Forcepoint.

You say that the number of users of Fences is miniscule that it is not worth investing the time and effort into fixing the problem.  I posit that the number of user is miniscule, because Fences does not work.  My company imposes the need to run Forcepoint on its computers.  It would approve Fences if it worked in this environment, opening up the market to hundreds of thousands of potential customers. 

Also I had no problem finding people on this forum who are having similar problems to mine.  If that wasn't the case you wouldn't already know that Forcepoint was a problem.  So, I think the issue is bigger then you are making out. 

Fine,  You will not or cannot help me get Fences running on my machine.  Please let me know of any alternatives to Fences that provide similar functionality that WILL work with Forcepoint.

Or, open source a version of the Fences code so that the community can fix this problem. 

 

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting michaelstoddard, reply 7

What I WANT is the functionality that Fences provides.
End of michaelstoddard's quote

Then we want the exact same thing, Michael.  I mean that sincerely,. 

Quoting michaelstoddard, reply 7

Apparently you all have no desire to accommodate me (and anyone else working at this company) by creating an update to Fences that works with Forcepoint.
End of michaelstoddard's quote

I am serious with this question, I am not being flippant here; why is the onus on Stardock to modify Fences and not the makers of Forcepoint to modify their app?  You said yourself that you have used Fences, happily, for a long time - very likely alongside a number of other apps / AV products.  It was only when you introduced a single app, Forcepoint, that it caused a problem.  Knowing that is the case, whose product is to blame - how are you getting to the conclusion that it's Fences that needs to change and not Forcepoint?

Again, Fences has no other issues with any other AV product.  Furthermore, we don't have Forcepoint to test with nor can we test with every app that is available (the 100s of thousands of them).  That said, we do our best when clients let us know of any issues - the number and frequency of answered threads in the forums hopefully is clear evidence of that.  

Quoting michaelstoddard, reply 7

You say that the number of users of Fences is miniscule that it is not worth investing the time and effort into fixing the problem.  I posit that the number of user is miniscule, because Fences does not work. 
End of michaelstoddard's quote

That is not what I said, I said:

Quoting sdRohan, reply 6

And to be clear, and honest, Forcepoint is only seen in a super minority of our clientbase.
End of sdRohan's quote

Fences, on the other hand is very literally used by 10s of millions of people, governments, and corporations.  What I meant by my statement is that Forcepoint (used to be WebSense) seems to be a minority in the AV product space - we see other AV products much more often - and again, Fences works just fine with them.

Quoting michaelstoddard, reply 7

Also I had no problem finding people on this forum who are having similar problems to mine.  If that wasn't the case you wouldn't already know that Forcepoint was a problem.  So, I think the issue is bigger then you are making out. 
End of michaelstoddard's quote

Michael, I have worked for Stardock 6 years this past October - I don't think I have had more than 20 clients report the Forcepoint conflict.  Could there be others that see the issue but never report it?  Absolutely, but I can only work with the people that do - I can only tabulate those that post. 

Again Michael, I want Fences to work for you too - just as much - I hope you can believe that.  We just can't create work-arounds (if even possible with Forcepoint) for every app that introduces a conflict with Fences.  We are thankful that very very few ever have.


Sean Drohan
Stardock Customer Service Manager

 

 

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

I consider this a productive discussion.  

I am not being flippant here; why is the onus on Stardock to modify Fences and not the makers of Forcepoint to modify their app? 

Frankly, if I had the ability to communicate with Forcepoint I would.  Are YOU in communication with Forcepoint?  Because I am not an administrator of Forcepoint on my corporate network I have no authorized way to communicate with them.  

Are you claiming that Fences has a larger install base than Forcepoint?  Tens of millions of paid users?

It was only when you introduced a single app, Forcepoint, that it caused a problem. 

As I said, Fences worked great on Win 7.  To my knowledge, the company has been using Forcepoint for some time now.  And as long as I was on Win7 Fences worked just fine alongside Focepoint (or Websense).  It was only when I was upgraded to Win 10 that the Forecepoint/Fences issue reared its ugly head.  

Honestly, I don't care who should do the workaround. 

Does Fences need to do something shady to achieve its functionality such that it violates the proscriptions of my Anti-Virus software (i.e. it behaves like a virus on my system)?  What security vulnerabilities does Fences therefore open in order to do what it does?  I think your entire install base needs to know the answer to that question.  

Again Michael, I want Fences to work for you too - just as much - I hope you can believe that.  We just can't create work-arounds (if even possible with Forcepoint) for every app that introduces a conflict with Fences.  We are thankful that very very few ever have.

You make is sound like an issue that is too small for your vaulted position to address.  So open source an old version of your codebase!  Let the community of developers who do have an interest in a work-around work on this issue.  I promise you there are about 10,000 software engineers like myself out there that think this issue might be worth addressing (see?  I can use biased statistical estimations as well).  I think you would be surprised at how quickly a solution can be found.

 

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting michaelstoddard, reply 9

Does Fences need to do something shady to achieve its functionality such that it violates the proscriptions of my Anti-Virus software (i.e. it behaves like a virus on my system)?  What security vulnerabilities does Fences therefore open in order to do what it does? 
End of michaelstoddard's quote

No, as Fences works flawlessly with all other known AV apps - again, it's only Forcepoint that causes a problem.

I will pass on your other observations and suggestions, Michael - thank you for them.

----------------
Sean Drohan
Stardock Customer Service Manager

Reply #11 from Stardock Forums Top

Michael,

I found this as a possibility for 'white-listing' Fences for Forcepoint:

https://www.websense.com/content/support/library/web/hosted/admin_guide/ep_bypass.aspx

This, in particular, is what attracted me to it:

'If you have deployed the endpoint client to your end users, occasionally some applications do not work properly in conjunction with endpoint enforcement.'

I would like to see what your admins could do with it, or if I am looking at the wrong spot, that they would know how to do it another way.  If you could keep me posted, it would be most appreciated.

----------------
Sean Drohan
Stardock Customer Service Manager

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting AuthorGregLundberg, reply 2

I have this exact same problem. It seems to occur when I change the display theme under personalization to run a slide show of standard windows backgrounds. I have the latest Fences software. I uninstalled and reinstalled Fences. I rebooted the laptop several times. When I disabled the slide show and went back to a single fixed background, the problem stopped.
End of AuthorGregLundberg's quote

 

The exact same thing happened to me.  Fences was running fine with a Slideshow on Windows 7, then I got upgraded to Windows 10 last week and it will not work with the Slideshow, single background picture works fine.