Secunia files could not be scanned- Error: Archive is password protected (42056)

[dagrev]

For some reason when I scan the Secunia files "could not be scanned- Error: Archive is password protected (42056)."

This started when I tried the beta (or when I noticed it), but I have restored a disk image from before the beta and am still getting this message.  I've uninstalled Secunia and reinstalled.  I used to get a could not scan message with the Outlook.pst file, but now I'm getting it for about 100 Secunia files.  As far as I know nothing has changed on the system.

I know from the beta thread a few others have no problem, so I'm not sure what that error message means or how to resolve it.  That's too many files not to be scanned I would think.  I kept thinking a virus def update would help but it has not.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

[ady4um]

First, there are already other topics with this, so please next time search and read them before re-posting. If it would be necessary, then post accordingly (in the same topic or a new one, depending on several factors).

Second, many things can cause this type of messages from Avast. For whatever reason, Avast is not able to read the contents of those files. If you have some file with password protection, Avast has no way to know which password you are using, so there is no way for Avast to open it if it needs to.

Something equivalent (but a little bit different) would happen if you have compressed some file with some proprietary compression algorithm and no publicly known way to decompress it. Avast would have no way to look into this archive so to scan it. If Avast were to know, somehow, that this would be an archive, it would tell you that the compression method is unknown or unsupported.

It is not saying that there is some malware. It is saying that it doesn't have the means to "go beyond". That's the point of password protection, isn't it?

In any case, IMO Avast should investigate these several reports about this new behaviour with Secunia, so to be sure it is not a bug or a problem with some update in Avast.

[YoKenny]

I have Secunia PSI on my systems and I have not seen that message.

[dagrev]

First, there are already other topics with this, so please next time search and read them before re-posting. If it would be necessary, then post accordingly (in the same topic or a new one, depending on several factors).

Second, many things can cause this type of messages from Avast. For whatever reason, Avast is not able to read the contents of those files. If you have some file with password protection, Avast has no way to know which password you are using, so there is no way for Avast to open it if it needs to.

Something equivalent (but a little bit different) would happen if you have compressed some file with some proprietary compression algorithm and no publicly known way to decompress it. Avast would have no way to look into this archive so to scan it. If Avast were to know, somehow, that this would be an archive, it would tell you that the compression method is unknown or unsupported.

It is not saying that there is some malware. It is saying that it doesn't have the means to "go beyond". That's the point of password protection, isn't it?

In any case, IMO Avast should investigate these several reports about this new behaviour with Secunia, so to be sure it is not a bug or a problem with some update in Avast.

First, I did and nothing was helpful.  Thus a new thread for a new development.

Second, obviously a password protection would do this but that is not a problem here.  This is a new development with the same software.

No compressed files.  Same as it was when it all worked correctly.

I never thought it was malware, simply that avast is not reading the files that were previously read with no problem.  Again, password protection is not an issue.

And yes I hope that avast will look into this new issue--thus the post.

[Gopher John]

I have Secunia PSI on my systems and I have not seen that message.

No problems with Secunia PSI files here, either.

[Vlk]

So, which files are reported as password protected, exactly? (a screenshot would help - ideally with the window resized so that the paths are visible in their entirety).

Thanks
Vlk

[dagrev]

So, which files are reported as password protected, exactly? (a screenshot would help - ideally with the window resized so that the paths are visible in their entirety).

Thanks
Vlk

Possibly this will help.

Thanks

[Mona7865]

Please see this thread as well :

http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=88618.0

[Mona7865]

FWIW : these results don't come up when doing a scan on my netbook Win 7 - SP1.

[igor]

Then, most likely, the password protected archive is not present in PSI installation on the other machine.
You say it started all of a sudden - that's because PSI downloaded that file one day. It's got nothing to do with the version of avast! (the archive processing code is inside the virus definitions, so it's irrelevant whether you have avast! 6.0.1289, 6.0.1352 or 5.0.something - it's identical code in all the cases, and even though I can't say for sure what kind of archive that is because it's impossible to say just by the screenshot, I dare say the code hasn't changed for quite a while).

So, I don't see any issue here - Secunia folder (now) contains some password-protected archives... that's all.

[Asyn]

It's Flash related, they started pw protecting their updates some versions ago.
So, nothing to worry about..!!

[Mona7865]

I'm not duly worried about it but I find it a bit odd this started suddenly, out of the blue, a couple of days ago.

As of Flash : this is installed on the netbook as well so I assume the Flash updates there might be password protected as well.

[Asyn]

1. I'm not duly worried about it but I find it a bit odd this started suddenly, out of the blue, a couple of days ago.

2. As of Flash : this is installed on the netbook as well so I assume the Flash updates there might be password protected as well.

1. Well, that's when Secunia loaded the Flash update.
2. Sure.

[dagrev]

Thanks for the insight.  But I wonder why only a couple of us Secunia users are having this issue.  If they are loading these files I would think just about everyone would be having avast not be able to read these.

[Asyn]

Thanks for the insight.  But I wonder why only a couple of us Secunia users are having this issue.  If they are loading these files I would think just about everyone would be having avast not be able to read these.

They are just there temporarily.