windows defender issues? & other AV issues?

[Curry Kenworthy]

As I've (seriously) joked previously in my bug 21604 report that has 
been referenced already in this thread:

Since Windows Defender is fairly unlikely to be the oh-so-sneaky culprit 
when similar issues show up running the LC 9 Script Editor on the Mac 
platform, :D therefore it's highly doubtful that this is strictly an AV 
industry issue. Viewing it as such could even delay a permanent cure.

Fortunately, disabling Windows Defender's real-time virus options is a 
great fix for the symptoms. And like a good cold medicine, that is a 
huge relief! Currently I'm using a third-party AV (with some of its 
options tweaks as well) so in Windows Defender Security Center, "Virus & 
threat protection" is overridden by the other product. But "Firewall & 
network protection" and "App and browser control" and "Device security" 
are still fully enabled. It's NOT a good idea to disable the whole 
shebang, especially firewall. Be sure to have some form of AV installed. 
(I also had bad results with McAfee, which is what came pre-installed 
with my computer.)

As I've also predicted previously in that bug report, it's a 
better-than-average bet that the LC 9 Script Editor is not using the 
best practices in some areas, because merely typing usually does not 
cause problems in most other apps on a fully Windows-Defended system, 
not to mention Macs. Per common sense and best coding practices, the 
actions taken by the IDE while we are merely typing and selecting text 
ideally should not open the doors to get AntiVirus products involved 
continually. Actions that may get vetted by AV, or that may use greater 
system resources, need to be considered carefully in terms of approach, 
timing, and responsiveness.

Thus, easing the symptoms (quick relief!) may be different than a 
permanent cure (no more of this trouble, plus improved performance as a 
bonus). The cure would probably make the SE snappier for all users, even 
those who never had problems. It would also head off any possible future 
issues in case other Operating Systems decide to imitate some of the 
Defender type features. It wouldn't be the first time one OS followed 
the lead of another.

It's important not to conflate two very different problems that have 
been discussed relating to Windows Defender. One is getting the 
"jitters" and having trouble typing, copy/pasting, etc in the LC 9 
Script Editor. The IDE itself is affected, and presumably may be the 
cause. This is the problem that I predict is fairly likely to be more of 
a code design issue than an AV issue.

The other problem is apps and their files being flagged or completely 
blocked by AV, which is a different and more common problem in the 
software world, and very much an AV and file trust issue.

Best wishes,

Curry Kenworthy

Custom Software Development
"Better Methods, Better Results"
LiveCode Training and Consulting
http://livecodeconsulting.com/