Ulmwë

Thanks, everything is back to normal now.

Thank you. While I also thought about a false positive, I've posted my case because of two issues, the second one being the most important and still unanswered: In all logics (for what it's worth), if it was a false positive, it should have done this from day one when I 1st installed the software and tried to launch ASC.exe for the 1st time: it did this after about a month of regular use. However, I'll take your word for it, recover ASC.exe from quarantine and include ASC'S folder into the exclusion list. But, What about those registry entries that got deleted: should I just leave this issue as is (are they unimportant or get created on the fly)? Or, should I recreate those entries, and if so along what key values? Or, should I uninstall and then reinstall the software?

Sure. But first I'll have to resolve an issue that I've posted on another forum in regard to an AV Trojan detection, which deleted registry entries related to ASC (I finally bought a license about a month ago), along throwing the ASC.exe program into quarantine lol... When it'll get answered, I'll post a screen capture and more explanation (sorry about this).

Note: My ASC was the latest version since I bought a license a month ago; I'm using Kaspersky Antivirus (updated too). My 2 questions are : In regard to the deleted entries in Windows registry and ASC.exe that was put into quarantine, what should I do to resolve this problem ? How come ASC.exe was detected as a Trojan, can this be addressed too? Thanks in advance.

I don't know if I'm posting this in the right form area, but here's my problem. Today, suddenly and for the 1st time since I bought a license for the pro version about a month ago, when launching ASC (I wasn't even doing an AV scan), my AV blocked it and thrown it into quarantine (deleted the ASC.exe file), as some dubious activity was detected on its part. Here are the entries I got in my report. They all relate to ASC.exe, along entries in Windows Registry which ended up being deleted by my AV: Event: Malicious object detected User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Detected Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic Threat level: High Object type: Process Object path: e:\program files (x86)\iobit\advanced systemcare Event: Blocked User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Blocked Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic Threat level: High Object type: Process Object path: e:\program files (x86)\iobit\advanced systemcare Event: Malicious object detected User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Detected Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic.nblk Threat level: High Object type: Process Object path: e:\program files (x86)\iobit\advanced systemcare Object name: asc.exe Reason: Databases Databases release date: Yesterday, 12/2/2021 11:59:00 AM Event: Process terminated User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Terminated Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic.nblk Threat level: High Object type: Process Object path: E:\Program Files (x86)\IObit\Advanced SystemCare Object name: ASC.exe Event: Object deleted User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Deleted Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic.nblk Threat level: High Object type: File Object path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tasks Object name: {7D238796-20E7-4990-8A64-2FCAEB86216D} Event: Object deleted User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Deleted Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic.nblk Threat level: High Object type: File Object path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree Object name: ASC_SkipUac_<MyUserName> Event: Object deleted User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Deleted Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic.nblk Threat level: High Object type: File Object path: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Plain Object name: {7D238796-20E7-4990-8A64-2FCAEB86216D} Event: Object deleted User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Deleted Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic.nblk Threat level: High Object type: File Object path: C:\Windows\System32\Tasks Object name: ASC_SkipUac_<MyUserName> Event: Object deleted User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Deleted Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic.nblk Threat level: High Object type: File Object path: %HOMEPATH%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\TaskBar Object name: Advanced SystemCare.lnk Event: Object deleted User: <MyPCName>\<MyUserName> User type: Active user Component: System Watcher Result description: Deleted Type: Trojan Name: PDM:Trojan.Win32.Generic.nblk Threat level: High Object type: Process Object path: e:\program files (x86)\iobit\advanced systemcare Object name: asc.exe

I really like the file recovery UI that comes with ASC (downloaded for free when clicking on it). Unfortunately, the result UI itself is almost unusable : we can't expand the window in order to see more information like file path, and there's no way to sort by file type (video/picture/program/document/etc.), which makes up for a very poor usability.

I'm just passing by but I'm curious: what "sucks"? I use Smart Defrag without issue, but I'm not a pro in regard to defragmentation tools and market alternatives: is it a matter of performance? Software glitches ? Efficiency of the defragmentation ? ...? Could you please be more specific. On my part it works flawlessly...

This is a serious matter, and I fully understand OP's concerns. In all respect, here are two scenarios that iObit, who's pretending to offer solutions that are part of fighting malware/spamware/spyware/viruses, should, or better said, must be aware of : what it should be; what it otherwise would be. Since the advent of the Web, experiences of vendors and services alike having activities on the Web along a growing client base came up with ethical behaviors that makes the Web a better environment for everyone, for user as well or as for businesses. Some are not enforced by formal legislations while counting on everyone's good will, however they could become as such if they continue to get ignored. What it should be For free product versions, users understand they'd maybe have to endure advertisements for other products. Even from third parties, although this would be a tricky business for the provider as these products are then considered to be "adware" (and to some extent "spyware"). It's normal, they know the developer/vendor should get something in return. Some clever developers actually use these as bridges towards their flagship products asking for a paid license (their advertisement being their free products): that's what iObit does btw. What it otherwise would be The aggravation rises when users pay for a product that keeps acting as if they'd never paid anything, in regard to your advertisement activities/revenues: the common, justified and legitimate perception being that even though they've paid for a product, the company continues to consider them as their ow products for selling advertisements, as an asset for consolidating advertisement revenues or the object of whatever agreement iObit could come up with third parties! Your paying customers are people, as the word "customers" implies, not "assets" that can be sold out to advertising customers or third party partners. Imagine if every business on the Web was acting like this : we'd go back something like 10-20 years ago when it became a real problem, and the main reason for installing spamware/malware/spyware/adware fighters 😉. In short - it's not because something would allow you to make more money, that it's necessarily good: since you're dealing with human beings rather than mere "economical agents", there's a backdraft in the balance and to take into consideration. For instance, paying customers who stop to be paying customers (losing some grounds on your customer base), as the OP implies: it's a matter of mutual respect... Simple Solutions For paying customers, there could be two possibilities: op-out from advertising e-mails; when a customer leaves an advertised product like iTop VPN on the side (maybe they don't want a VPN or already have one), then iObit should STOP feeding them with such, permanently, unless the customer chooses to change that behavior from some option parameter. Iobit makes great products that can speak for themselves, which is why I took the time to write this post, in all respect. Please, accept my best regards and have a good continuation.