Secunia PSI - need help resolving the gray icon for 3 days now

[Eagleeye]

Good morning everyone,

 

     The Secunia PSI program that's been on my computer for a few years now has been displaying a gray icon in the Taskbar Notification area for 3 days now.

 

I've restarted the computer 4 times and still the icon will not return to the green color.  All programs on this computer are up-to-date, including all Windows updates.  I've also attempted to post in the PSI Forum several times, but there is apparently some problem there.  I have no trouble logging-in to my account and creating the post.  But, when I click on the [SUBMIT] button, it displays a dialog box telling me to select a forum to post in, despite the fact I was already in the PSI Forum when I clicked on the "Create a new thread" button.  I also do not see any place on the screen to select a forum.

 

In addition, I sent an inquiry to Secunia Support.  All I got back was some email advertisement for their CSI program.  (I'm guessing they only reply to paying customers).

 

My question:  Is there some way to resolve this issue?

 

Thank you for your time and any help!

 

EE

[daledoc1]

Perhaps reinstall it?

[Eagleeye]

Hi DD1 and thanks for getting back with me!

 

     I did try uninstalling then re-installing the program.  Unfortunately the problem persists.

 

Cheers!

 

EE

[daledoc1]

Hi:
 
You didn't say:
- What version of PSI?
- Does the program otherwise work OK (IOW is the problem only with the system tray icon)?
 

If it's version 3, perhaps rollback to version 2 (which most agreed was better), if it's still supported; or if it's version 2, perhaps upgrade to version 3?

 

If the latter, perhaps try rebuilding the Windows icon cache?
HERE or HERE
http://support.microsoft.com/mats/windows_file_and_folder_diag/

 

That's about all I can think of, as I haven't used Secunia PSI for a long while (I found it to be increasingly inaccurate, so I just manually check and upgrade everything...).

 

Hope this helps,

[Eagleeye]

Thanks very much for the additional info DD1!

 

     The version I'm using is 3.0.0.10004.  The problem was just with the icon being gray and the program would not load.

About an hour ago, I clicked on the gray icon again to open the PSI program  -  lo and behold...it's working again, and the icon is back to its usual green color!  Problem resolved.  (Though I have no idea HOW it resolved).

 

Much obliged again for your time and help with this issue!

 

EE

[daledoc1]

Perhaps their servers were down, so the program couldn't phone home to check on software update status?

[Eagleeye]

Morning DD1,

 

     There seems to be some odd quirk with the PSI program.  After turning on the computer earlier this morning, I once again noticed the PSI tray icon was gray, but when I clicked on it to open the program, it opened as it normally does and the icon turned green again.

 

I checked the list of programs set to run at LOGON via the Autoruns program, and Secunia is still check-marked as it always has been.  At least it still works. 

 

Cheers!

 

EE

[detsi]

I got fed up with Secunia. Their support is dreadful. A contributor named Maurice Joyce seems to be the only person on their forum who is interested. He appears to be very knowledgable regarding Secunia and will solve most problems. Some time ago I was involved in a thread, on their forum regarding the grey icon.http://secunia.com/community/forum/thread/show/15187/secunia_wont_loadThere were several pages to this thread with no solution in sight. Eventually,  Maurice recommended an alternative to Secunia to anyone who might be interested https://heimdalsecurity.com/en/. I have used Heimdal since and it is trouble free. It is not as comprehensive as Secunia but it deals with all the important updates very efficiently.

[Aura]

There seems to be a lot of issues with SecuniaPSI lately, mostly with the latest version (3.x) and Windows 8/8.1. However, if you have the version 2 and below, it runs just fine. So if you can grab a clean installer for it, you should use it. I personally had a lot of issues with SecuniaPSI 3.x and my Windows 8.1, but I reinstalled it a week ago and it's been fine since then.

[Eagleeye]

Thanks for the info, detsi and Aura.  I couldn't agree more about Secunia's lack of support!

 

     The issue with the Secunia icon being gray-colored, and having to manually open the Secunia PSI program before the icon will even turn green is continuing, despite all the things I tried (as shown in my OP).  Frankly, I am beginning to seriously question if the PSI program is actually even checking at all -  to see if all 67 programs in its list are up to date.  I looked at the posts by Maurice via the link you included, and made sure Active Scripting was enabled in the Internet Options, as well as, including the https://*.secunia.com in the Trusted Sites list.  Problem still continues.  I don't recall having made any changes to anything or added any programs which might be causing this problem either.

 

I'm not seeing anyone else posting in the PSI Forum about this issue, so it would appear I'm the sole person experiencing this problem.  There was one time since I first posted here when, after a restart, the icon actually turned its usual green color.  But, on subsequent restarts (or cold boots), the problem returned.

 

Task Manager shows Secunia PSI Agent is running, but the Secunia Update Agent is not running.  I don't know if this is of significance or not.  I did check something else on the computer (don't recall where) to confirm the two aforementioned programs/processes were scheduled/set as "automatic"...which they already were.

 

I'm hesitant to go switching to the Heimdal program you mentioned, in part because you indicated it is not as comprehensive as the PSI program.  (Perhaps you could post back and let me know in what way(s) is the program not as comprehensive as PSI).   I've also been unable to find any user reviews of the product since Heimdal first came on the scene in 2011.  At one time I used Filehippo, until I began seeing reports in some forums that they are now including adware/bloatware to their downloads.  (I can't recall if FileHippo was as comprehensive as PSI or not).

 

[EDIT ]:  I just saw your reply above after I posted this.  I'm using Win 7 Home Premium (as shown in my signature line).  A couple of questions for you:

 

1.  Are you currently using PSI v3.0.0.10004 or did you roll back to version 2?  If so, which specific version of 2 did you install?

 

2.  Do you happen to know where there is a safe link to download v2?

 

[EDIT # 2]:  Modified post to acknowledge Aura's first reply.

 

Best regards,

 

EE

[Aura]

I'm not home at the moment, so I'll answer you tonight to confirm the version of SecuniaPSI I'm using, but it's the latest one I think. And I don't have a download link for version 2, but I think I have the installer for SecuniaPSI 1.5. I'll let you know tonight.

[Eagleeye]

Much obliged, Aura.

 

     I've uninstalled PSI for a 3rd time.  Also, went into my Outpost Security Suite and purged all existing Application Rules for the PSI program, then enabled the Rules Wizard and Auto-Learn modes.  Next, I went to Secunia's site, downloaded & installed the current version of PSI (3.0.0.10004) again.  I opened PSI to ensure all programs were reported up to date and PSI is set to run at start-up.

 

Then did a computer restart.  At this time, the icon is shown as green.  I'll wait for a couple of days to see if PSI behaves itself or if there is still an issue with it, then post back with my results.

 

Best regards,

 

EE

[detsi]

 

 

I'm hesitant to go switching to the Heimdal program you mentioned, in part because you indicated it is not as comprehensive as the PSI program.  (Perhaps you could post back and let me know in what way(s) is the program not as comprehensive as PSI).   I've also been unable to find any user reviews of the product since Heimdal first came on the scene in 2011.  At one time I used Filehippo, until I began seeing reports in some forums that they are now including adware/bloatware to their downloads.  (I can't recall if FileHippo was as comprehensive as PSI or not).

 

Hi Eagleeye, Glad to know that you're 'back to green'. In reply to your enquiry see: http://blog.botfrei.de/2013/03/csis-heimdal-security-agent-2

 

As the link states all of your programs are not covered by Heimdal but the most vulnerable such as Adobe and Java are concertrated upon.

I did not check for reviews, Maurice Joyce's advice deemed good enough for me and by the way, somewhere in that thread, I'm sure Maurice does mention Filehippo.

 

Good luck. Stay green.

[Aura]

FileHippo Software Checker/Updater (I forgot the exact name) is just an application that check for outdated programs and then open the report directly on a webpage, so it's mostly web-based if you ask me. It's still good, but I would prefer my software updater to be application-based, and not web-based. And yes, Heimdal Free offer a few more features than SecuniaPSI, but it only scans for vulnerable programs, while SecuniaPSI pretty much scans for all of them. One thing I do like in Heimdal however is that you can schedule the updates and it logs them so you can check the log to see what was updated and when.

[Eagleeye]

Many thanks for your respective follow-up replies & info, detsi and Aura!

 

     Thus far, PSI seems to be functioning normally.  Will monitor it for a couple of days to see if the problem returns, then post back here to update everyone on how things are going.

 

Cheers!

 

EE

[Aura]

Can you tell me where you see the SecuniaPSI version? It doesn't seems to have that option to me, at least, not an obvious one.

[Eagleeye]

Hi Aura,

 

     The Secunia version is shown in the Control Panel > Programs and Features on this Win 7 computer I have.  If you're referring to the download link, here it is:  http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/

 

Hope this helps.

 

EE

 

(Edited at 3:50 p.m. to include link to PSI download at Secunia.com)

[Aura]

Alright thanks. I was looking for it in the program itself like I usually do, I never use the version number from the control panel since I can usually access it within the program itself. I should be home in around 2 hours, I'll post back with the version number then. And I tried it yesterday: launched it, scanned my system for outdated programs and it was still working fine.

[Eagleeye]

Hi again Aura,

 

     Another way I found the version was by going to:  C:\Program Files(x86)\Secunia\PSI...then hover your mouse over the psi.exe file.  Also, shown below is the response I just received back from Secunia Support:

 

=================================BEGIN REPLY=========================

Hi,

1. My guess is that there are some traces left from the older versions of the program, that you need to remove manually.

In the PSI, right-click the program à click “Show Details” à This should show you a path to the files. Go to this location and delete the files.

After a rescan the PSI should detect the right versions of the program.

1. As you noticed, the forum interface isn’t quite working as intended at the moment. We are aware of it and are working on fixing it.
2. See 2.

Hope this helps!

 

Best regards/Med venlig hilsen

Villiam Bartholdy, IT Supporter
Email: vbartholdy@secunia.com  
Secunia • Mikado House • Rued Langgaards Vej 8,4 • DK-2300 Copenhagen S • Denmark • Phone: (+45) 7020 5144 • Fax: (+45) 7020 5145

=====================================END OF REPLY=========================

Cheers!

 

EE

[Aura]

Alright so I just checked and I'm running the same version as you, 3.0.0.10004. And I'll try what the support contact said if it ever bugs again.

[Eagleeye]

Here's the latest update on where things stand.

 

The problem seemed to resolve for about a day, but returned again this morning when I turned the computer on.  In checking Task Manager (Services tab), it showed "PSI Update Agent" was stopped, and the system would not let me start the process - an access denied message (despite the fact I'm logged-in under my Administrator account).  The only way to get the icon to turn green was to click on it and open the program.  Although, it shows all programs are up-to-date.....I have significant doubts whether or not the PSI program is actually checking the 67 programs it's supposedly monitoring. 

 

I replied to Secunia Support's email by letting them know their "guess" about the problem and the solution they proposed did not work.  I asked them to provide me a link to download PSI v2.  (I haven't been able to find any place where v2 can be downloaded.  I see no links on Secunia's site and nothing really turns up in a Google search).  It seems a lot of people haven't liked v3 since it first came out.

 

Am still unable to post in the PSI Forum either.  Same problem as described in my OP.

 

Regards everyone,

 

EE

[Aura]

If you want, I can provide you the SecuniaPSI 1.x installer I have somewhere in my hard drive. That if they don't send you an installer for version 2. If they do send you one, do mind sending me it?

[Eagleeye]

Much obliged for the offer, Aura.

 

     I'm hoping Secunia will (preferably) - come up with an actual solution.  It took Support some time to answer me back when I first contacted them, so I expect it will be a couple of days at least, before I may get a reply.  I just may take you up on your offer, and if they DO send me a link for PSI v2, I'll post it here for you.

 

Have a good one!

 

EE

[Aura]

Here, I sent you the download link via PM, since I don't know if I'm allowed to post such links publicly on Malwarebytes or not!

[digmorcrusher]

v3 never worked right for me, v2 was excellent. Using Sumo for now.