Original CS products DO NOT contain any malicious components. But some antivirus (AV) software (including default Windows Defender) can produce false-positive alerts.
Moreover, AV can block installation and/or proper operation of our products' components. The ACE.exe, the gauges (dll) and the installer itself are the most common files to be "detected" and blocked by AV. Sometimes AV produces a warning sometimes it doesn't.
SOLUTIONSDURING CS PRODUCT INSTALLATION
A. Disable Windows Defender before CS product installation.
Navigate: Control Panel > Updates & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Virus & threat protection settings > Manage settings > Real time protection > set OFF.
B. If you don't want to disable your AV:
You will get an AV warning popup as soon as you run a CS product's installer. Click the popup right away, proceed > Actions > Allow.
Win10 gives you literally a few seconds for that.
C. If you have missed the AV popup, and/or the "Allow" action selection is gone, or you got Error 24:
Close the installer then run it again. Do not miss the AV popup this time.
After you successfully Alowed the file in question:
- Close the CS product installer if it's still open.
- Run the CS product installer exe file again and follow its prompts.
- If you get an AV popup again, back to solution A or B.
ON SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED PRODUCT
Even an installed CS product can be damaged by AV at any moment. Usually that happens after Windows and/or CS product updates.
If you suspect that your AV has blocked some of the CS product's components (e.g. missing ACE, blank displays etc)
1. Navigate: Control Panel > Updates & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Protection history > Filter: Quarantined threats, select the threat > See details >
2. Find a CS product's component in the list, for example:
file: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\FSX\Captain_Sim\757-III\ace\ace_757.exe3. Click ACTIONS > RESTORE
If the "Restore" action is unavailable, go to #7.
4. Stop the AV from blocking the component by adding the file to the
exclusions list.
Navigate: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Virus & threat protection settings > Manage Settings > Exclusions > Add or remove exclusions > Add an exclusion > select the desired .exe file (installer, ACE, etc) to exclude.
ACE.exe is usually located in ...\Captain_Sim\ace\ folder.
IF there's no ACE.exe then your CS product is still broken. Back to step 1.
7.If the above of no help:
- Do
complete reinstall, but do not run CS product in the sim.
- Back to solution A or B.
P.S.
All the procedure listed above are for stock Windows 10 Defender. If you have an addon AV as well, please follow your AV guidelines.
Everyone is welcome to submit any exe/dll component of our products for malware analysis to
Microsoft or
VirusTotal.