Avast and Phrase Express

[REDACTED]

Dear Forum,

I use Phrase Express as a means of storing textclips and then copying them into my file.

Example:-

by typing ahbz I automatically type <a href ="http:bz.com">Go to bz website</a>

This feature has stopped working and the exclamation mark on the Phrase Express software says

"PhraseExpress and Security Software

PhraseExpress requires access to your keyboard input to provide the desired functions.

"Antivirus", "AntiMalware" software may inadvertedly interprete the "keyboard hook" which is used to detect keyboard input as a malicious "Keylogger" and block PhraseExpress from recognizing key strokes.

Check if your security software has a "keylogger protection" and consider switching it off or - if available - add PhraseExpress to a white list of authorized applications."

Can anyone advise me how to do what Phrase Express advises?

Bill Z

[DavidR]

Are you getting an avast alert ?
If so please attach a screenshot to your next post, this will give us the name of the file (executable) being pinged and what shield it likely to be responsible.

[REDACTED]

Dear DavidR,

Thanks for the reply.

Avast shows me nothing.

What I see is a warning exclamation mark in the phrase express main window.

The functionality "by typing ahbz I automatically type <a href ="http:bz.com">Go to bz website</a>" just stops working.

Thanks

Bill Z

[DavidR]

So you type ahbz and it opens your default web browser ?

What I'm seeing if I try to go to the site directly it fails, but your example of the replacement string appears to be incorrect (unless this is a typo) <a href ="http:bz.com">Go to bz website</a>
what you have in the replacement string

I can't access this directly http://www.bz.com firefox comes up with Server not found and a check using downforeveryoneorjustme.com confirms it is down.

https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/bz.com

[REDACTED]

Dear DavidR,

Thanks for your help.

I gave an example, sorry I wasn't clear. There  is text I use repeatedly in writing .html so I use examples like abhp to wrote that .html in my .html editor. bz are my initials, it was an example I don't know whether bz.com exists

I am beginning to think the problem is more with Phrase Express. When I type zbl..pix without the dots I get http://zandtao.com/zblog/pix/ automatically. This works. There is a technical term for this but I can't remember - key expansion??

But others I have setup I get the warning exclamation and it doesn't work. Despite what Phrase Express says I am not sure now that Avast is causing the problem.

Sorry to have troubled you. Can I close this thread?

Bill Z

[mchain]

Posts are kept active by responses to the original poster/topic, so if you don't do anything it will drop down the list and be forgotten - or, you can post an update to it if you think it is required.

A new post to an old topic will always bring it back to the top.   

[DavidR]

@ Bill Z
You're welcome.

You could try temporarily disable the shields in Avast just for a very short time test again and then enable the shields.

If it goes through, there may be some sort of conflict between the two (but I would have expected an alert).  If so you would then need to pin down which shield it is and add an exclusion for it. 

That said I don't know if that would work, you may be able to exclude the file itself (there is no alert) but that wouldn't prevent/exclude its actions.

[REDACTED]

Hi DavidR,
I can definitely reproduce this and confirm Avast is most likely blocking Phrasexpress (PE). When I disable the file shield and restart PE, it works fine. Then, once I turn that shield on again, PE is immediately blocked. And there is no alert. I use the free Avast and have its keylogger protection OFF (which I think is the default setting).
Can you please provide a solution or a workaround for that.
Thanks,
Roman

[DavidR]

Unfortunately I'm an avast user not an avast team member, any solution would have to come from there.

Disabling a shield, especially the file system shield is a very blunt weapon to try and pinpoint a specific problem.

I run a pretty customised installation of avast many of the shields and what I consider non AV components don't get installed.  Many of these may well be linked into the file system shield, the behaviour shield is another area that could have an interaction.

The Behaviour Shield actually mentions keyloggers in the description, but there isn't a switch as such to switch off checking for keyloggers.  But even then I would at the very least see some sort of alert/notification, not just that a function doesn't work.

I'm not sure where you are seeing this Avast keylogger protection that you have disabled ?