Develop Reference

Why does Kaspersky anti-virus prevent my program from capturing the output of its child process?

I have a C# program that launches a child process and captures its output in a string. This works on most Windows machines (Windows 7 and newer), but when Kaspersky anti-virus is present, Process.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd() returns null. There is no error code or exception. The child process is a trusted console application. The process takes 5 or 6 seconds to run.
The code for launching the child process is as follows:
ProcessStartInfo psi = new ProcessStartInfo();
psi.UseShellExecute = false;
psi.CreateNoWindow = true;
psi.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
psi.RedirectStandardError = true;
psi.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
psi.FileName = "icao.exe";
psi.Arguments = im_path + "image.jpg";
Process p = new Process();
p.StartInfo = psi;
p.Start();
string output = p.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
string error = p.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
MessageBox.Show(error);
p.WaitForExit();
int exitCode = p.ExitCode;
MessageBox.Show(exitCode+"");
Why does output end up being null when Kaspersky is present?

My guess is that Kaspersky's heuristics are seeing that your program wants to execute another exe. Because nothing is telling Kaspersky that this is ok, it flags your program as possible malware, because it wants to interface with other programs that are developed by other companies. If you are able to I would try white listing your program with Kaspersky and see if that solves your issue.

Turn Firewall on and off of using C#

I have written a C# program that uses command line arguments to
turn the firewall on and off.
Process proc = new Process();
string top = "netsh.exe";
proc.StartInfo.Arguments = "**Advfirewall set allprofiles state on**";
proc.StartInfo.FileName = top;
proc.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
proc.Start();
proc.WaitForExit();
// MessageBox.Show("Disable");
button1.Text = "Set On";
status = false;
I also run the application with admin permission. The application automatically runs with admin permissions but does not set firewall status on or off.
When I run the same command in cmd(netsh) the firewall is turned on or off.
Does anyone know why this is not working?

Running the same code but removing the ** seems to work. i.e. you need to change this:
proc.StartInfo.Arguments = "**Advfirewall set allprofiles state on**";
to this:
proc.StartInfo.Arguments = "Advfirewall set allprofiles state on";
Note that you should be running the app that starts the process as an administrator and to start the process as admin you can also use:
proc.StartInfo.Verb = "runas";

Process.Start cmd.exe won't run cmd file that is passed as agument when running in IIS

I've been searching and experimenting all morning with this one and I'm stumped. I have an aspx page running in IIS and calling the following c# function. I'm trying to have it run a cmd file and return the output from the cmd file. I've experimented with the five different options in the code below:
protected String RunMyCmdFileAndGetResponse() {
Process proc = new Process ();
proc.StartInfo.FileName = #"c:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe";
// proc.StartInfo.Arguments = #"/c echo hello"; <== 1
// proc.StartInfo.Arguments = #"/c c:\mypath\myfile_badname.cmd"; <== 2
// proc.StartInfo.Arguments = #"/c type c:\mypath\myfile.cmd"; <== 3
proc.StartInfo.Arguments = #"/c c:\mypath\myfile.cmd"; // <== 4
// proc.StartInfo.Arguments = #"/c call c:\mypath\myfile.cmd"; <== 5
proc.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
proc.Start();
string response = proc.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
response += proc.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
proc.WaitForExit();
return response;
}
Cmd file c:\mypath\myfile.cmd contents are:
#echo test line 1 > c:\mypath\myfilelog.txt
#echo test line 2
This cmd file works as expected when run manually, producing myfilelog.txt and returning test line 2. When executed with the c# code:
Option 1 works - returns 'hello' response as expected.
Option 2 fails as expected, indicating myfile_badname.cmd is not recognized as a valid command
Option 3 works as expected - it returns the contents of myfile.cmd as the response - this confirms I am able to find and read the file.
Option 4 does not work - as near as I can figure, it should. It does not hang up, but also does not return any response at all, and does not execute the cmd file (no myfilelog.txt produced).
Option 5 - same results as option 4.
Note - I've also tried modifying myfile.cmd to remove line 1 (creating the log file) and only leave line 2 to echo a response. Just in case it's a permission issue creating the log file. Same result.
Any help would be appreciated!
Updated to add solution:
The answer from #MaxOvrdrv got me thinking a different way. There does indeed appear to be some kind of limitation when running Process.Start within an IIS context with UseShellExecute = false - if the primary argument is an executable file (cmd file, script file, etc), it will not run it. I tried passing SomeExample.cmd to cmd.exe, and SomeExample.js to cscript.exe.
However... I was able to trick it with a level of indirection, such that the executable file name is no longer the first argument, and it works just fine that way.
To run a cmd file:
string theResponse = RunMyCmdAndGetResponse(#"c:\somepath\mycmd.cmd");
protected String RunMyCmdAndGetResponse(string cmdPath) {
Process proc = new Process ();
proc.StartInfo.FileName = #"c:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe";
proc.StartInfo.Arguments = "/c cmd /c " + cmdPath;
proc.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
proc.Start();
proc.WaitForExit();
string response = proc.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
response += proc.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
return response;
}
To run a script file:
string theResponse = RunMyScriptAndGetResponse(#"c:\somepath\myscript.js");
protected String RunMyScriptAndGetResponse(string scriptPath) {
Process proc = new Process ();
proc.StartInfo.FileName = #"c:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe";
proc.StartInfo.Arguments = "/c cscript //nologo " + scriptPath;
proc.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
proc.StartInfo.RedirectStandardError = true;
proc.StartInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
proc.Start();
proc.WaitForExit();
string response = proc.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
response += proc.StandardError.ReadToEnd();
return response;
}

Running a batch file or any process per say from an ASPX page is futile as IIS does not run under a true Windows User Context. Because of this, regardless of how many settings and rights you give to the user that the AppPool is running under or whatever type of config changes you make, it simply will never work. I ran into the same problem quite a while back and basically it's impossible.
See my previous questions (and comments), along with accepted answer for possible "conceptual" solution to your current problem, here:
Process.Start won't work

What about not using "cmd"?
Process proc = new Process ();
proc.StartInfo.FileName = #"c:\mypath\myfile.cmd";

Working with the command prompt in C#

I am working on a project of remotely receiving commands from a server, but I am facing a problem when working with the command prompt locally. Once I get it working locally, then I will move to remote communication.
Problem:
I have to completely hide the console, and client must not see any response when the client is working with the command line but it will show a console for a instance and then hide it.
I had to use c# to send a command to cmd.exe and receive the result back in C#. I have done it in one way by setting the StandardOutput... and input to true.
The commands are not working. For example, D: should change the directory to D and it does, but after that, if we use dir to see the directories in D, it does not show the appropriate directories.
Here is my code:
First Method
Process process = new Process();
ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo();
startInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
startInfo.FileName = "cmd.exe";
startInfo.Arguments = "/C " + textBoxInputCommand.Text + " >> " + " system";
process.StartInfo = startInfo;
process.Start();
Second Method
ProcessStartInfo procStartInfo = new ProcessStartInfo("cmd", "/c " + textBoxInputCommand.Text);
procStartInfo.WorkingDirectory = #"c:\";
procStartInfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
procStartInfo.UseShellExecute = true;
procStartInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
Process proc = new Process();
proc.StartInfo = procStartInfo;
proc.Start();
string result = proc.StandardOutput.ReadToEnd();
richTextBoxCommandOutput.Text += result;
I want the program to run as administrator because the exe it generates does not run commands when it runs from the C drive.

Try not to run the commands by passing them to cmd instead write the commands passed by the client to a.bat file execute the .bat. file from your program this will probably hide your command prompt window.
You can also use process.OutputDataRecieved event handler to do anything with the output.
If you want to execute command using administrator rights you can use runascommand. It is equivalent to the sudo command in Linux. Here is a piece of code may be it will help you
var process = new Process();
var startinfo = new ProcessStartInfo(#"c:\users\Shashwat\Desktop\test.bat");
startinfo.RedirectStandardOutput = true;
startinfo.UseShellExecute = false;
process.StartInfo = startinfo;
process.OutputDataRecieved += DoSomething;
process.Start();
process.BeginOutputReadLine();
process.WaitForExit();
//Event Handler
public void DoSomething(object sener, DataReceivedEventArgs args)
{
//Do something
}
Hope it helps you.

You could hide command prompt window by adding this line of code:
startInfo.WindowStyle = System.Diagnostics.ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
or do not create it at all
startInfo.CreateNoWindow = true;
Here can be found a few awarding solutions:
Run Command Prompt Commands

getting osk.exe to run from C#

I have VS2010, C# program that is setup to build as x86. I have two PCs where they are running. Both are Win 7 Prof, SP1, 32 bits. Both VS2010s are running at Admin level. Within my project I try to execute the line:
Process.Start("c:\\Windows\\System32\\osk.exe"); //win 7 on-screen keyboard
From debug mode-run, on one system it runs fine, on the other, an exception is thrown:
The specified executable is not a valid application for this OS platform.
I have the user control setting in Win 7--User Accounts to "never notify" as suggested from other sites, that did not work.
I have tried: (same result, fail)
Process process = new Process();
process.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = false; //have tried it true also
process.StartInfo.WorkingDirectory = "c:\\";
process.StartInfo.FileName = "c:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\osk.exe";
process.StartInfo.Verb = "runas";
process.Start();
Any ideas what needs to be changed (or do)?

Will this work for you? I altered it a bit using the System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo Class
ProcessStartInfo startInfo = new ProcessStartInfo();
startInfo.CreateNoWindow = false;
startInfo.UseShellExecute = false;
startInfo.WorkingDirectory = #"c:\WINDOWS\system32\";
startInfo.FileName = "osk.exe";
startInfo.Verb = "runas";
startInfo.WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden;
try
{
using(Process process = Process.Start(startInfo))
{
process.WaitForExit();
}
}
catch (Exception)
{
//throw;
}