Software Update: WinPatrol 30.1.2014

BillP Studios has released version 30.0.2014 of WinPatrol. In this program, ‘Scotty, the Windows watchdog’ keeps an eye on the system, making it work faster and more stable. WinPatrol detects and stops spy, ad and malware attacks, viruses and malicious Internet Explorer add-ons, while also preventing home page hijacks. A few other things are also monitored, including the processes running on the PC, the hosts file, file extensions, and whether a program or process is added to the start-up list.

In addition to the free version, there is also a paid one Plus variant, which provides access to a database with extensive information about programs and processes, which states, for example, whether they are safe or malicious. New in version 30 includes improvements to cookie management and delays in program launches. The release notes for this release are as follows:

International Date and Time Formats
As previously announced WinPatrol 2014 will continue to support our friends outside the US You’ll find this version handles formats as defined in the region control panel applet.

SQLite – Cookies
The only 3rd party software used by WinPatrol is an open-source public domain library named SQLite3.DLL This file is used by Chrome and Mozilla to store their cookies. If you see files in our Hidden list that start with “etilqs_” they indicate a SQLite database files. WinPatrol uses this file to help you manage your cookies. To continue our full cookie support this update includes the latest SQLite library.

WinPatrol Installation
The setup program has been improved to include more information on using WinPatrol effectively.

Graphic Enhancements
Graphics associated with WinPatrol lists have been updated. The graphic which represents real-time monitoring has been updated so PLUS users are provided a clear indication that monitoring is active.

ActiveX Non-PLUS error
We’ve had some reports that indicate WinPatrol can get confused about being a PLUS version. The main symptom is having an update button appear in the list of ActiveX controls.

Column Sorting
One of the functions used by our column sorting has been improved so sorting programs will be more consistent. In the process we also found that the company was not being displayed correctly.

Environment Variables
This version fixes a big in our handling of the %SYSTEMROOT% environment variable. It also improves handling of 64 bit file redirection for other environment variables.