We Keep Coding

Get applocker status of .exe file

I have developed a launcher that updates/run our software in other companies enviroment. Most of the time the company approves the launcher but forgets about the actual application.
Currently im using Process.Start(procStart) to start the application, but that silently fails if applocker blocks the application.
So i was wondering if someone reliable way of detecting if applocker is active, and when it blocks my application( So i can provide a proper error message).
When the error happens my application seems idle to the user, a memory dump shows this:
Code note:
There is no exception handling or suppression of exceptions. If the launcher crashes i would expect to see it in the eventlog.
Added code:
private void StartzzzDesktop(int value)
{
var rel = Settings.zzzDesktopStore.GetReleaseInfo(Settings.ConnectionDetails.zzzDesktopID);
var proc = CreateProccess(rel);
if (proc == null)
{
Settings.LastError = zzzLauncherError.FatelErrorStartzzz;
Settings.EventManager.TriggerEvent(zzzDesktopStatus.FatalError);
return;
}
Logger.Log(EventLogEntryType.Information, $"Started zzz desktop and got PID {proc.Id} from {rel.GenerateExtrationPath()}");
Settings.EventManager.TriggerEventSync(zzzDesktopStatus.DeleteOldReleases);
Settings.EventManager.TriggerEvent(zzzDesktopStatus.ReleaseBackgroundWorkers);
GC.Collect();
var remoteStatus = new GetRemotezzzWebStatus();
while (!proc.HasExited)
{
Thread.Sleep(1000);
if(!remoteStatus.IsRemoteVersionCompatible())
{
proc.Kill();
Logger.Log(EventLogEntryType.Information, $"Detected that the remote website is no longer compatible with current runnign version, and we are killing desktop.");
}
}
if(proc.ExitCode != 0)
{
Settings.zzzDesktopStore.Delete(rel);
Logger.Log(EventLogEntryType.Warning, $"zzz exited with a none zero exit code ({proc.ExitCode}), the local cached installation will be deleted");
}
else
Logger.Log(EventLogEntryType.Information, $"zzz exited in a normal way with exitcode {proc.ExitCode}, running for {(DateTime.Now - proc.StartTime).ToString()} ");
CloseDown();
}
internal Process CreateProccess(zzzDesktopInfo release)
{
release = GetReleaseInfo(release.ID);
string pathzzzExe = Path.Combine(release.GenerateExtrationPath(), "zzz.exe");
var verifyStatus = UtilsVerifyFile.Verify(pathzzzExe);
if ( !File.Exists(pathzzzExe) || !verifyStatus.Verified)
{
Logger.Log(EventLogEntryType.Error, "Found zzz.exe in temp folder, but the certificate did not pass verification");
foreach (var logentry in verifyStatus.Logs)
Logger.Log(EventLogEntryType.Error, "Certificate verification log: " + logentry);
MarkDatabaseForPurge();
return null;
}
// Removed enterprise spesific code.
var procStart = new ProcessStartInfo();
procStart.FileName = pathzzzExe;
if (Settings.ConnectionDetails.zzzLoginToken != Guid.Empty )
{
procStart.Arguments = "/RefreshToken:" + Settings.ConnectionDetails.zzzLoginToken.ToString();
}
var process = Process.Start(procStart);
return process;
}

C# Process StandardOutput. How to send Output from the ran EXE?

I have two programs, one is a game and one is a launcher for the game. I created the launcher, in the first place, to receive basic information from the game and detect any kind of exit (crashes, Task Manager process stop, etc)
I will attach my current code for the process runner, it seems like all solutions on the internet, but what I can't figure out is how to make the game send information to the launcher. I tried Console.WriteLine("login=..."); but it doesn't seem to send anything.
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (Process exeProcess = Process.Start(new ProcessStartInfo() { UseShellExecute = false,
FileName = "Game.exe",
WorkingDirectory = Environment.CurrentDirectory,
RedirectStandardOutput = true}))
{
string output = "";
while (!exeProcess.HasExited)
{
try
{
output += exeProcess.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd() + "\r\n";
}
catch (Exception exc)
{
output += exc.Message + "::" + exc.InnerException + "\r\n";
}
}
MessageBox.Show(output);
}
}

With respect to your code, by adding the following line you can obtain error messages that were thrown by the game.
RedirectStandardError = true,
If you are developing your game in .NET you can return appropriate error codes as follows. Based on the error code you can then display appropriate messages in you launcher
enum GameExitCodes
{
Normal=0,
UnknownError=-1,
OutOfMemory=-2
}
//Game Application
static void Main(string[] args)
{
try
{
// Start game
Environment.ExitCode = (int)GameExitCodes.Normal;
}
catch (OutOfMemoryException)
{
Environment.ExitCode = (int)GameExitCodes.OutOfMemory;
}
catch (Exception)
{
Environment.ExitCode = (int)GameExitCodes.UnknownError;
}
}
NOTE: You can take a look at this open source game launcher developed in C# as a reference or modify it as per your needs.
EDIT: Added info as per comment
There are multiple ways to enable communication between between 2 .NET processes. They are
Anonymous Pipes
Named Pipes
Using Win32 WM_COPYDATA
MSMQ

Queuing installations via Process.Start

I need to queue approximately 20 installations that are fully unattended (Using a C# winform application). Each installation has its own INI file (that is manually created) that contains the proper information on what arguments each installer requires for this procedure (read in before that program is executed). I'm running into issues with many application that when the setup.exe is executed the process closes immediately and launches its MSI (if applicable), causing my procedure to carry out with the next installation assuming that the first is complete. I have read similar problems snooping around the web, but no real solution on the issue... (some workarounds included using a batch file with the /Wait option which should have kept the setup.exe in memory until its MSI has completed). The setup.exe must be launched due to the fact that they contain bootstrappers.
What options do i have to resolve this dilemma?
Here is some sample code that demonstrates the procedure:
foreach (ListViewItem itm in this.lstSoftwares.Items)
{
try
{
if (itm.Checked)
{
lblStatus.Text = "Status: Installing " + current.ToString() + " of " + count.ToString();
string InstallPath = Path.Combine(Application.StartupPath, "Software",
itm.Text, itm.Tag.ToString());
string CommandLine = itm.SubItems[1].Text;
Process process = new Process();
process.StartInfo.FileName = InstallPath;
process.StartInfo.Arguments = CommandLine;
process.StartInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Normal;
process.Start();
process.WaitForExit();
this.lstSoftwares.Items[i].SubItems[2].Text = "Complete";
current++;
}
Update
right after waitforexit() i'm using a loop that checks if the msiexec is running:
private bool MSIRunning()
{
try
{
using (var mutex = Mutex.OpenExisting(#"Global\_MSIExecute"))
{
return true;
}
}
catch (Exception)
{
return false;
}
}
this is a hack in my opionion, but doing the trick so far...

Querying the MSI Mutex after process.start in a loop (check if Mutex is running every 3 seconds, if not return and proceed with next install) seemed to solve the problem (Noted above).

Already answered, but I have a slightly more robust implementation of the MSI mutex check:
public bool IsMsiExecFree(TimeSpan maxWaitTime)
{
_logger.Info(#"Waiting up to {0}s for Global\_MSIExecute mutex to become free...", maxWaitTime.TotalSeconds);
// The _MSIExecute mutex is used by the MSI installer service to serialize installations
// and prevent multiple MSI based installations happening at the same time.
// For more info: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa372909(VS.85).aspx
const string installerServiceMutexName = "Global\\_MSIExecute";
Mutex msiExecuteMutex = null;
var isMsiExecFree = false;
try
{
msiExecuteMutex = Mutex.OpenExisting(installerServiceMutexName,
MutexRights.Synchronize);
isMsiExecFree = msiExecuteMutex.WaitOne(maxWaitTime, false);
}
catch (WaitHandleCannotBeOpenedException)
{
// Mutex doesn't exist, do nothing
isMsiExecFree = true;
}
catch (ObjectDisposedException)
{
// Mutex was disposed between opening it and attempting to wait on it, do nothing
isMsiExecFree = true;
}
finally
{
if (msiExecuteMutex != null && isMsiExecFree)
msiExecuteMutex.ReleaseMutex();
}
_logger.Info(#"Global\_MSIExecute mutex is free, or {0}s has elapsed.", maxWaitTime.TotalSeconds);
return isMsiExecFree;
}

Killing Java Process from C# Console App

I posted about this a little while ago, but I resolved the other issue and ran into one more. I am about to deploy this program to 28 hosting machines so I want to make sure this is working before I do so.
I wrote a little c# NET application that is basically a wrapper for a Java application, when my app starts, the Java app starts, when my app closes, it closes, and so on.
Everything works properly except that when I close my application, the Java application continues to run. When I create the process, I store the Process var in a variable outside of the methods, and then use that when my application goes to shutdown. For whatever reason though it is not terminating the Java application.
class Program
{
private static Process minecraftProcess;
public static void LaunchMinecraft(String file, String memoryValue)
{
String memParams = "-Xmx" + memoryValue + "M" + " -Xms" + memoryValue + "M ";
String args = memParams + "-jar " + file + " nogui";
ProcessStartInfo processInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("java.exe", args);
processInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
processInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
try
{
//using (Process minecraftProcess = Process.Start(processInfo))
using (minecraftProcess = Process.Start(processInfo))
{
minecraftProcess.WaitForExit();
}
}
catch
{
// Log Error
}
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Arguments CommandLine = new Arguments(args);
// Hook ProcessExit Event
AppDomain.CurrentDomain.ProcessExit += new EventHandler(Current_ProcessExit);
if (CommandLine["file"] != null && CommandLine["memory"] != null)
{
// Launch the Application (Command Line Parameters)
LaunchMinecraft(CommandLine["file"], CommandLine["memory"]);
}
else
{
// Launch the Application (Default Parameters)
LaunchMinecraft("minecraft_server.jar", "1024");
}
}
static void Current_ProcessExit(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(10000);
// If we have an active Minecraft Service, Shut it down
if (minecraftProcess != null)
{
minecraftProcess.Kill();
}
}
}

You can't Sleep in a ProcessExit handler.
The documentation states:
The total execution time of all
ProcessExit event handlers is limited,
just as the total execution time of
all finalizers is limited at process
shutdown. The default is two seconds.
An unmanaged host can change this
execution time by calling the
ICLRPolicyManager::SetTimeout method
with the OPR_ProcessExit enumeration
value.

Nevermind, I just realized the minecraftProcess variable is static.

Don't know if you did not solve this issue by yourself but:
You should be aware that there are Start methods for instances (returning bool) and static (returning a object).
You should not use using with something other than using-local variables!
Just this should work fine:
minecraftProcess = Process.Start(processInfo)
minecraftProcess.WaitForExit();

Hudson Doesn't Seem to Run Process.Start Correctly

For a project I have to start an application in C#, rip out the AutomationElement tree related to the process, and then close the application and output the tree. I'm doing this by opening the application using Process.Start. Then I'm finding the AutomationElements related to the spawned process and walking the tree using a combination of TreeWalker and AutomationElement's FindFirst and FindAll methods.
This runs fine on my computer and runs correctly using NUnit locally. It also runs on the other people in my groups computers. The problem is that it never runs on our central testing server that's running Hudson. After some hours of debugging, I had a test on Hudson start the application and then print the first level of the AutomationTree. On my computer, this prints all of the windows I have on my desktop. On Hudson, this only prints the Desktop.
Thinking there might be multiple desktops, I tried using TreeWalker's GetNextSibling function on the RootElement. It still only reported one desktop.
Here's the code I'm using to start a process.
public bool connect(string[] args)
{
if (this.process != null) {
Console.WriteLine("ERROR: Process already connected");
return false;
}
if (!File.Exists(sApplicationPath)) {
Console.WriteLine(sApplicationPath + " does not exist");
return false;
}
// Turn the command arguments into a single string
string arguments = "";
foreach (string arg in args) {
arguments += arg + " ";
}
try {
// Start the application
ProcessStartInfo processStartInfo =
new ProcessStartInfo(sApplicationPath);
processStartInfo.Arguments = arguments;
this.process = Process.Start(processStartInfo);
// Must be a positive integer (non-zero)
if ( !( iInitialDelay > 0 ) ) {
Console.WriteLine("Invalid initial delay. " +
"Defaulting to 5 seconds.");
this.iInitialDelay = 5000;
}
Thread.Sleep(this.iInitialDelay);
} catch (Exception ex) {
Console.WriteLine("WGApplication.connect: " + ex.Message);
return false;
}
// Check if the process still exists
try {
/** This part does not return an error, so I think that means the process exists and is started */
Process check = Process.GetProcessById(process.Id);
} catch (ArgumentException ex) {
Console.WriteLine("The process expired before connection was complete");
Console.WriteLine("Make sure the process is not open anywhere else");
Console.WriteLine("and that it is able to execute on the host machine.");
return false;
}
// Check if the base automation element exists to verify open
AutomationElement rootWindow =
AutomationElement.RootElement.FindChildProcessById(process.Id);
/** This part returns null, so it can't find the window associated with this process id */
if (this.process == null) {
return false;
} else if (rootWindow == null) {
// A root window with this process id has not been found
Console.WriteLine("Cannot find the root window of the created " +
"process. Unknown error.");
return false;
} else {
// Everything is good to go
return true;
}
}
sApplicationPath is set to the absolute path of the executable. iInitialDelay is a delay to make sure the application has time to start. I'm running this on 'C:\Windows\System32\notepad.exe' on Windows Vista SP2 and compiling it with the v3.5 C# compiler.
FindChildProcessById is defined as follows:
public static AutomationElement FindChildProcessById(
this AutomationElement element, int processId)
{
var result = element.FindChildByCondition(
new PropertyCondition(AutomationElement.ProcessIdProperty,
processId));
return result;
}
Remember that this compiles and works on my computer. My test program on Hudson said that the RootElement had no children at all.
So I start the application, confirm it exists, and then I can't find any windows associated with the process. I can't find any windows associated with anything except the desktop.
Is this a problem with Hudson? Does Hudson work in some specific way that this code wouldn't work on it? Is it a problem with my code? The Hudson server is running on a Windows Server 2003 computer. Any help would be appreciated. I know this is a very specific problem which is a reason why I can't find any solutions online.

Is Hudson running as a service? If so, it may not have the necessary rights to show windows.