eSellerate error - 25007 machine mismatch

[devgrp]

You guys a driving me crazy with all these anti piracy safe guards. First I install GSX on a brand new clean install of windows 10. Coualt loads up but nothing happens when I try to bring up gsx or when I click on any of the menu. I turn off my AV and reinstall and it works, so I did a flight from MDPP to KIAD and landed fine. I exit fsx and install a few scenery from Vidan Design. I start fsx back up and I get eSellerate error - 25007 machine mismatch error and have to verify activation for gsx and all my fsdt and FB sceneries.

What is this all about? I'm using up all my activations when they were already activated. What could have triggered a reactivation when all I did was install a few sceneries

[virtuali]

You guys a driving me crazy with all these anti piracy safe guards. First I install GSX on a brand new clean install of windows 10. Coualt loads up but nothing happens when I try to bring up gsx or when I click on any of the menu.

And what THIS has *anything* to do with piracy ?

I turn off my AV and reinstall and it works

THIS was the problem, instead. Your antivirus, instead, is driving you crazy with its faulty heuristic logic and it's mistakenly identifying a legit program as a virus, so it's the antivirus that is clearly bugged.

We made EVERYTHING on our part to be compliant with the latest anti-false positive standards. In another thread, you say you are using the GSX Beta, and this has a feature called "Taggant" standard:

https://standards.ieee.org/news/2011/icsg_software.html

That allows executables digitally signed in a certain way, to be considered safe. Provided your antivirus recognizes this. As you can see, it's an IEEE standard that has been published in 2011, so there was plenty of time for antivirus vendors to support it to fix false-positive alerts. We added it to our executables as soon as it was commercially available so, we made everything we can (supporting Taggant is not free) to prevent false positives, now it's the antivirus vendors turn to do their part to make their products more reliable.

, so I did a flight from MDPP to KIAD and landed fine. I exit fsx and install a few scenery from Vidan Design. I start fsx back up and I get eSellerate error - 25007 machine mismatch error and have to verify activation for gsx and all my fsdt and FB sceneries.

According to your own report, you installed GSX "on a brand new clean install of windows 10", so it's absolutely NORMAL this would trigger an activation confirmation. We explained this countless of times: the ONLY time you need a reactivation, is when:

- You change a major hardware component

OR

- You reinstall Windows from scratch.

So, there's nothing unexpected here. You simply have to confirm your activation, what's the problem ? It's not as if you reinstall Windows from scratch every day, I hope...

I'm using up all my activations when they were already activated.

You used all your activation because you forgot to use the "Deactivate" feature before updating your system. And you forgot this for 5 times. You cannot fault the system, if you always forget to use one of its best feature at your disposal to NEVER end up with no activations left:

http://www.fsdreamteam.com/forum/index.php/topic,4082.0.html

This feature has been available in all our products since 2011. It's strongly suggested you use it.

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean you cannot reactivate anymore. It simply means you must contact us asking for a manual reactivation. The Deactivate feature was supposed so you DO NOT have to contact us, and reactivate right away without waiting for an answer.

What could have triggered a reactivation when all I did was install a few sceneries

You clean-reinstalled Windows, THIS is what caused a reactivation. OF COURSE, according to your report, if GSX wasn't working at that time, because the antivirus blocked the program from running, it's normal you wouldn't get any reactivation notification, when the programs weren't running, but only when they started to work again.

And, it's not as if the activation is checked constantly, there's a bit of grace period, so it's not strange you were notified a bit later, instead of immediately after you reinstalled Windows.

[devgrp]

Dude did yo read my post? Yes I did a clean install of windows on the 29th of july and activated all my sceneries. Everything was fine. I did a flight to KIAD and all the buildings were there and even GSX worked. The first time GSX didnt work, like I mentioned in the other thread so I closed FSX then restarted.

Started at MDPP and GSX finally decide to work. Flew to KIAD and landed. Buildings and GSX works. I close FSX and installed 3 new scenery from Vidan Design. Started back up fsx to check out the new sceneries and I get the error. Now my question is how is this possible. 3 hrs before it worked and no activation error, then I close FSX and start it back up and I get activation error. If you bothered to read my post you would see that I didnt reinstall windows after the flight so nothing changed.

As far as AV goes, I'm using the default Windows defender in windows 10. I did exactly what you suggested when installing all fsdt and FB sceneries. Turn of AV and have my AV excluded coualt, bglmanx and the entire fsdt folder in fsx. This is beta software so you may want to listen to your customers when they report problems. I never had these problems with the previous version

[virtuali]

Dude did yo read my post?

Obviously yes, I wonder if you read mine, instead.

Yes I did a clean install of windows on the 29th of july and activated all my sceneries. Everything was fine. I did a flight to KIAD and all the buildings were there and even GSX worked. The first time GSX didnt work, like I mentioned in the other thread so I closed FSX then restarted.

GSX was working, but since THERE IS some grace time (as I've said, it's not that it checks for activations every minute...), it didn't triggered an activation check in this (brief) time it was working.

Started at MDPP and GSX finally decide to work. Flew to KIAD and landed. Buildings and GSX works. I close FSX and installed 3 new scenery from Vidan Design. Started back up fsx to check out the new sceneries and I get the error. Now my question is how is this possible. 3 hrs before it worked and no activation error, then I close FSX and start it back up and I get activation error.

I already explained why this is possible. It's not as if the activation is checked every single time (which is obviously BEST for you), the checked simply happened later, on the next FSX restart after the program finally decided to make a check (and it was fully working), the fact you seem to associated it with an install of other sceneries doesn't have anything to do with it, it was just an FSX restart.

If you bothered to read my post you would see that I didn't reinstall windows after the flight so nothing changed.

If you bothered to read my post entirely, especially the part which I repeated here about the program not checking constantly, you would have know why this might have happened.

It's ALSO possible that, even for you "nothing changed", Windows itself, which was installed very recently, was still in the act of configuring itself and made some updates in the meantime, which might have triggered a new reactivation which, again, you will notice ONLY when you restart FSX. SOME Windows updates, especially if they act on some drivers like the IDE/SATA or the network drivers, might trigger a reactivation.

As far as AV goes, I'm using the default Windows defender in windows 10. I did exactly what you suggested when installing all fsdt and FB sceneries. Turn of AV and have my AV excluded coualt, bglmanx and the entire fsdt folder in fsx.

I'm using the Windows 10 default defender too, but I haven't got any problems with the modules. But I haven't reinstalled it from scratch, I only updated Windows 8, so it kept my previous antivirus exclusions that I set with Windows 8.

This is beta software so you may want to listen to your customers when they report problems. I never had these problems with the previous version

If you are referring to the activation request, this doesn't have anything to do with the Beta. We don't do ANY hardware check directly. We don't even KNOW, exactly, how it works.

It's done entirely by the Esellerate .DLL, which hasn't changed since 2007, and the actual reactivation message you see on screen is made by the Addon Manager, which is the SAME file as it's the regular version, the only things changes in the Beta are Couatl and the GSX code.

If, instead, you are referring to the problem with the antivirus, which doesn't happen here (but as I've said, I already had all the needed file excluded from the previous Windows installation), if there's a difference in the Beta, is that it should be LESS affected by false-positives, because its uses the Taggant system, while the regular version didn't.

[devgrp]

So you are basically telling me that when I install a scenery and put in my serial number its not activated right away? because this has never happened on any version of windows or gsx I've had. I've had gsx and a few FB and fsdt airports and I've never gotten that error before and I've had them for a couple years now. All these problems started when I install the beta. And for the record its wasnt just GSX asking for reactivation, it was all my FB and fsdt sceneries.

I just dont believe that installing gsx and all the sceneries since the 7/29 and now 8/3 thats when they decided to be activated, when the activation window popped up and ask me if I want the scenery to be activated and told me that the serials were back up. Now mind you I'm not a idiot when it comes to computers. I have a BS in computer science so I know what I'm doing. You just seem to think your "beta" program doesnt have bugs. After all its beta. Instead you blame AV software from MS who has tons of programmers working for them. Its safe to say that since I'm not the only one have this problem, its your program thats the problem which you need to fix

[virtuali]

So you are basically telling me that when I install a scenery and put in my serial number its not activated right ?

Never said that. When you insert a Serial Number, it IS reactivated right away.

It's when you change hardware or reinstall windows that a new reactivation might be triggered, and THIS might not happen immediately.

As I've said, "you" might have not changed hardware, but Windows itself might have downloaded some updates in the background that triggered a reactivation.

All these problems started when I install the beta. And for the record its wasnt just GSX asking for reactivation, it was all my FB and fsdt sceneries.

Again, this doesn't have anything to do with the Beta. The activation message comes from the Addon Manager, which is (bit-by-bit) identical to the regular version, and the actual hardware check is made by the Esellerate library, which hasn't changed in years.

I just dont believe that installing gsx and all the sceneries since the 7/29 and now 8/3 thats when they decided to be activated, when the activation window popped up and ask me if I want the scenery to be activated and told me that the serials were back up.

It happened, whether you believe it or not. And it can happen. And it HAS happened to other users, long before we made the Beta. If you checked the forum  for the 25007 error, you would see could always happened, even if the user was sure he didn't changed anything, and it's usually due to changes in Windows drivers that for some reasons are reported as hardware changes to Esellerate. Our software doesn't even try to understand how the hardware detection works, it simply gets a notification from the Esellerate .DLL that a reactivation check is needed, so it simply complies with it.

You just seem to think your "beta" program doesnt have bugs.

It doesn't have bugs that we can reproduce, and we fixed all the bugs that has been reported so far that we COULD reproduce, WHICH IS WHY, I asked you to help us finding the "inoperative menus" bug you reported in another thread.

It doesn't have ANY "bugs" or changes in the hardware change detection process, which is totally unchanged from the old version, it was never under our control, not before, not now in the Beta.

Instead you blame AV software from MS who has tons of programmers working for them

YOU blamed the antivirus, because you said it all worked after disabling the antivirus. I trust your report, but I don't have any problems with the MS Defender, and this is what I always used, and it never flagged any of our products as threats.

When I explained the Taggant system, you only report was generically "I turned off the antivirus", so I couldn't possibly know which one you used, but I tell you that Windows Defender is fine, and doesn't mistakenly detect any of our software as threats, it never did before, and it doesn't to that now with the Beta.

Its safe to say that since I'm not the only one have this problem, its your program thats the problem which you need to fix

If you are referring to the 25007 error, it's NOT our program that has this "problem". As I've said, several times, the hardware detection is done by Esellerate, and we don't have the slightest idea how they do that. You said yourself that it always worked for years, so you KNOW it works.

But it can happen, and it happened to other (few) users in the years, and this was long before the beta, so the issue doesn't have anything to do with it.

When this happens, it's must be due to some changes happening in Windows, usually triggered by driver updates, that looks like the hardware has changed. But again, we are not entirely sure what's causing it, because our software doesn't even TRY to deal with your hardware.

1) Windows reports an hardware change (because of a driver update) to the Esellerate dll

2) The Esellerate dll decides this is an updated hardware, and reports to our software about the 25007 error

3) The Addon Manager displays the message, prompting to reactivate.

It's a BLACK BOX for us but, as you said yourself, it usually WORKS FOR YEARS.

And besides, could you please contact me in private indicating all your Order Numbers ? Because, I tried searching for your past orders to see your activation history, using both the email you used to register on the forum and your name, but the only orders I was able to find were your GSX order and an order for KIAH so, I wonder if you ordered under different names, because you said "all my FSDT sceneries".

And, if you still have the OTHER problem you reported in the other thread, which is the inoperative menus, we really need to setup a Teamviewer connection to check this.

[devgrp]

I didnt blame the AV. I said I did as you suggested when I install your sceneries. You are the one that said to disable AV and have the AV exclude certain files before we start installing. Its clear if we have to do that, then coualt is doing something to make all AV think its a virus. I've never had to do that with any other scenery and I have plenty.

And how is installing some updates able to trigger a reactivation from your sceneries and not others. Maybe you need to work on that part of the program because installing a few updates in the background shouldnt trigger a reactivation. You're basically saying that everytime windows installs updates the reactivation script will be triggered which is unacceptable. And I've posted a video showing the unresponsive menus that I and others are having. It seems like you cant reproduce none of the problems that people report. Maybe because you are working in a controlled environment

[virtuali]

I didnt blame the AV. I said I did as you suggested when I install your sceneries.

But YOU said it worked ONLY after you did that. Never happened to me with the MS Windows Defender, but what reasons do I have not to believe your report ? If disabling the antivirus fixed your issue, what is the problem, exactly ?

You are the one that said to disable AV and have the AV exclude certain files before we start installing.

That's what you have to do if the antivirus is the source of the problem. What do you think the exclusions are there for ? Because antivirus vendors KNOW they can catch false positives.

Its clear if we have to do that, then coualt is doing something to make all AV think its a virus. I've never had to do that with any other scenery and I have plenty.

Couatl is not a scenery, so it's wrong to compare it with a scenery, it's a support program used by GSX and sceneries too, and it should be compared to something like the Flight1 module, with the difference that while the Flight1 wrapper module does ONLY anti-piracy protection, while 99% of Couatl does is totally unrelated to anti-piracy: it's a Python interpreter to allow scripting to allow any kind of interaction with objects ( GSX is written 100% in Python ), which saves a lot of valuable memory, by running externally from FSX, and it might resemble some an utility module like FSUIPC.

Guess what, if you Google for "antivirus" and "Flight1 wrapper", you'll see PLENTY of similar issues with antivirus products. ANY FSX module that has any reasons to use cryptography (would you trust a module that handles your personal details when ordering products if IT DIDN'T ? ), will be red-flagged by antivirus.

And the reason is very simple: when a module is encrypted against any tampering, the antivirus CANNOT "peek" inside it, to check if it's REALLY dangerous, because that's the whole point of being encrypted against any tampering. So, to err on the safe side, the very fact of being encrypted against any tampering is considered enough proof to report a virus, because the antivirus CANNOT tell the difference, since it cannot look inside the executable.

WHICH IS WHY, the Taggant system has been proposed, to allow legit authors to digitally sign their executables to be recognized as safe and still being able to use encryption against tampering, which is becoming mandatory for any executable that has to deal in *some* way with users private data.

WHICH IS WHY, we immediately adopted the Taggant system, but we cannot be sure how fast all antivirus will recognize it, because the first commercial working implementations of it has been released quite recently.

And how is installing some updates able to trigger a reactivation from your sceneries and not others.

Because our sceneries ( and FB ) use Esellerate, and not others. Besides, you still haven't replied to my request (in private) to send me a list of all your past orders, so I could check your activations and when/how they happened. As I've said, I couldn't find any other orders for FSDT sceneries other than KIAH so, I wonder if with "all my FSDT sceneries" you meant JUST KIAH, or you have other orders, maybe made under a different name or email.

And no, I'm not asking this to question your report, but ONLY to see when those reactivations happened, and eventually add new ones. I ALREADY did that for GSX and KIAH (the only order I could find), so you have several spare activations left so, if you have other sceneries, it's in your best interest to say which ones, and their order numbers, so all their activations could be verified and added if you need new ones.

Maybe you need to work on that part of the program because installing a few updates in the background shouldnt trigger a reactivation.

We don't have to work on anything, because we don't have any control of how what Windows drivers say to Esellerate, which is doing all the hardware detection. It anyone had to work on this, it should be Esellerate, but since their .DLL is used by hundreds of products, even unrelated to flightsim or games, if this was really a common issue, they would have fixed it long ago.

You're basically saying that everytime windows installs updates the reactivation script will be triggered which is unacceptable.

YOU said "it worked for years". Are you saying you never, ever, installed any Windows updates before ? Surely that's not the case, so you already have proof that, normally, installing updates will not cause any problems.

But apparently, SOME of the updates that has been published these days, caused this problem, on YOUR system. Perhaps it was simply the timing of the installation of the updates, otherwise it would have happened to everybody.

And I've posted a video showing the unresponsive menus that I and others are having. It seems like you cant reproduce none of the problems that people report. Maybe because you are working in a controlled environment

And I've I ASKED you to be able to check your system directly with Teamviewer, so I can run some test on YOUR system. To this request, you still haven't replied.

This clearly demonstrates that, when a real problem is found, we are trying everything to fix it, but since we cannot reproduce it, we NEED your help. But this is a real problem, the activation issue you had, IT'S NOT.