Software Update: WinPatrol 31.0.2014.0

BillP Studios has released version 31.0 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. The release notes for this release are as follows:

SQLite Database
Both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome use a public domain database called SQLite. To properly monitor these and future browsers WinPatrol also uses SQLite, WinPatrol has been using a library SQLite3.DLL, provided by the developers of SQLite. In our new version, we’ve included the source code for the SQLite functions we need into WinPatrol. Adding the source code directly we have more control over accessing data and can also optimize the code to improve performance. We can also remove any extra code which isn’t required so less memory is used.

You may notice in the WinPatrol list of hidden files many files that begin with “etilqs” followed by random characters. These are SQLite files as you may notice etilqs is SQLite backwards.

Pale Moon
Many browsers use Mozilla as the core of their functionality. Recently, many WinPatrol users have requested support for a Mozilla browser, Pale Moon. This browser will now automatically be detected so cookies stored by Pale Moon will be managed by WinPatrols view cookies and real-time filtering feature.

Pale Moon will also be listed as a browser in the standard WinPatrol Report.

New Icons
The Scotty system tray icon is easier to see with a new traditional Scotty icon on a blue tile background. The Blue Orb icon introduced when our original icon was hard to view on Vista will no longer be used. This will also mean we won’t need the option to use our old traditional Scotty icon.

For anyone with a Start Menu, you’ll also find more readable tile icons for WinPatrol, WinPatrol Explorer, Uninstall and Help.

Safe Update Version Info
Our Safe Update button will now include version information for security programs Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and Microsoft Security Essentials where appropriate.

Server Optimization
WinPatrol v31 now optimizes communication with our server when a severe attack occurs. While WinPatrol will never create enough traffic to hurt your local network our new optimization will make sure you have all the bandwidth you need.